District Four
by GinnyMastrani
Summary: Harry Potter is just a kid from District Four. He never wanted this. Cato is a warrior from District Two, he volunteered. When these two collide in the arena, sparks will fly. HXC Warnings inside. Complete.
1. Prologue

Harry was walking down the cobbled path again, the one he took every night. Like every night he tried to stop, tried to force himself to wake up but couldn't. Once again he was trapped in his eight year old self's fragile body. Again, like every night, the Peacekeepers came. They came and with them, the pain. Little Harry Potter woke with a start, and a shriek of remembered agony.

Harry lay panting in his bed, heart beat racing like a rabbit. He ran his small shaking fingers over the warm natural thread of his sheets. Slowly he sat up, and stared around his room. It was dark, illuminated only by the full moon hanging outside his window. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, and lay his feet on the cold wooden floor. A shiver raced down his spine, and he would be lying if he said it was only from the cold. He choked back the frightened sobs, like he tried to do every night, but like every night, Lucius somehow heard his pain and again, rushed to his rescue.

Lucius Malfoy was his best friend's father, and his savior. When Harry was eight he had been attacked by the Peacemakers for a crime he hadn't known he had committed. He had been whipped and beaten, but then Lucius was there, raining down on the others like an avenging angel, and all the small child could do was sob brokenly and pass out. When he had awoken he had found himself in the head Peacekeepers manor, and you can imagine his terror. It turns out however, that Lucius was Draco's father, and the head Peacekeeper. Ever since then Harry had been an unofficial member of the Malfoy family. When Harry's parents were publicly executed for plots to overthrow the Capitol, the Malfoy's had taken him in for good. Harry still lived in terror of the Peacekeepers, but less so when he was with surrogate father.

Harry whimpered, still recovering from his nightmare, even as Lucius' elegant fingers caressed his inky locks of hair and murmured in his ear. Slowly, he became coherent again, and flushed when he realized that he and Lucius were in the exact same position that they were often. Harry hadn't had a nightmare in months, but with the upcoming Reaping he was more stressed than normal.

"Sorry. Sorry." The small fourteen year old murmured, lips trembling slightly. Lucius hushed him, and it was exactly like it used to be. They stayed silent for a few moments, taking comfort in the others embrace and Harry realized that Lucius was just as stressed about the up and coming Reaping as he was. "Go back to sleep Lucius. We both have busy days tomorrow." Harry whispered softly, but he knew even then that when he woke up tomorrow Lucius would be curled up right next to him, and that will mean another fight with Draco for him, and a fight with Narcissa for Lucius. They slept soundly for the rest of that evening.

So this is the prologue, and the rest of the chapters will definitely be longer than five hundred words, but let me know what you think. Full list of warnings and other such things will be in the next chapter lovelies. Au revoir. ~GM


	2. Chapter 1

Warnings:** SLASH. **Let me bold that for you. This story is Cato and Harry so if you don't like it, you've been warned. Minor gore warning depending on your sensibilities and what you define as gore. Attempted rape very later on, don't worry, it will be clearly marked so you can skip over it. This story may become M later on, so be on the lookout for that. Other than that, enjoy!

***** Chapter One ****

Harry frowned down at the pavement, desperately trying to ignore the Peacekeepers all around him. Draco wasn't at his side, not that day, not when he needed him the most. Their recent fight had ended in Harry being exiled from the Malfoy Manor until further notice. Again. Drake would get over it; he always did in the end. Today though, why did they have to be fighting today? The dark haired boy bit his lip in an effort to stay calm. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Lucius, directing all those around him. Harry's shoulders relaxed slightly. Nobody could hurt him with Lucius there. Today was the Reaping. The exalted, bloody reaping. Here in District 4 the Reaping was often viewed as a pleasant event and Harry supposed for some people it was. The town square, dead center of District 4, was packed with people. Smiling teens, so sure they wouldn't be picked. Nervous mothers, hoping desperately that those teens were right. The fourteen year old shuddered, and felt a heaviness settle over his shoulders. He looked up, and finally brightened when he spotted Draco, leaning over him slightly and placing his still warm jacket on Harry's back.

"You came." Harry stated, a small smile playing on the corners of his mouth. The older boy nodded slightly, mouth tight, looking anywhere but at Harry. "You're still angry with me." Again a statement, even as the tenuous smile melted from his face. Draco continued obstinately staring straight forward. Harry nodded. "Right then. Better get to our sector."

During the Reaping all potential tributes were made to stand in one of six sectors, depending on their age. The sectors were arranged with the eldest, at 18 years of age, at the very back, and the youngest, 12, at the very front. The sectors were then labeled, with the front most sector being one, the one behind them two, and so forth. Harry and Draco made their way to the third sector with the other fourteen year olds. Draco looked unconcerned about the Reaping; his name was only in there twice. Draco had trained lightly as a precaution in case he was called, but he wasn't a fighter by any means. Harry's name was in there once. Discreetly he crossed his fingers by his side, hoping against hope that he or Draco would not be called. Harry drew in a deep breath as the anthem began to play. Sometime during the video educating them on the uprising, Harry grabbed Draco's hand, just as he did every year.

"All rise in honor of the 74th annual Hunger Games." Called Contra Deviear, District 4's current representative. He had just been promoted this year. There was very little movement in the crowd, as most everyone had already been standing. Contra tittered a little nervously at the blank and anticipating stares aimed his way. "Yes well. Our first tribute, from the ladies, will be," Here the light haired man paused dramatically as he sifted through the names. "Ginny Weasley! Come on up here Ginny!" Deviear smiled a grotesque smile at the frightened, but determined girl. Harry flinched, he knew her. She was in the year behind him and Draco. She swam with them sometimes. She was only thirteen. There was a burst of polite applause, after the twenty seconds people have to volunteer as tribute had passed by. Ginny gazed at everyone fiercely, but there was genuine terror in her sparkly brown eyes. Harry squeezed Draco's hand tighter, probably to the point of pain, but Draco only squeezed back reassuringly and Harry knew he was forgiven. "And for this year's male tribute…" Deviear paused again to shuffle the little slips of paper around in the bowl and draw one out. Harry was nearly quaking with tension by now, praying that it wouldn't be Draco, not Draco, never Draco… But God had clearly never been on little Harry's side and Deviear's unnaturally plump, purple lips open to form the first syllable and Harry was frozen in shock as the last thing he ever expected to hear fell from those terrifying lips.

"Harry James Potter." He called, and Harry was still. Draco was trying to get him to relinquish his hold on his pale fingers, but Harry's wouldn't, couldn't, let go. It wasn't possible. Harry looked around desperately, begging someone to volunteer with his eyes. No one did. Finally Draco just started moving to the stage, leading Harry behind him. There was silence. _Harry James Potter. Harry James Potter. _It was a mantra. It curled through the air, through the minds of the people. But there was silence. Harry was realizing this, and then 20 seconds had passed and he was on stage and he had lost Draco in the crowd. He locked eyes with Lucius, his avenging angel, and knew that there would be no savior for him tonight. So Little Harry Potter smiled, and waved, and very carefully hid himself from the cameras.

After the applause from the crowd Harry and Ginny were led from the stage and into a building, one that was normally used to store fish. Contra Deviear wrinkled his nose, but it didn't even register for Harry. He was gone for the moment, a moment of peace trapped in his own quiet mind. He was led to a room, away from Ginny. The door opened moments later, and it was his avenging angel and his lovely Draco. Harry took two deep breaths and left his mind. Before it registered that he was being manhandled Harry was already perched on Lucius' lap, and for once Draco didn't even seem a bit off-put by it. He just sat next to them and clasped Harry's hand.

"Harry, can you hear me?" Lucius asked, staring him in the face, grey eyes locked to green. Harry frowned, looking a bit amused.

"Of course I can hear you Lucius; you're right next to me." Harry laughed, but it was a hollow, frightened noise. Draco closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them he was composed, because a Malfoy is to never lose their cool in public.

"You're going to win, right love?" Draco asked, and Harry detects the slightest tremble in his silky voice.

"Why Draco! If I didn't know better I would say you were worried about me." Draco stared at him, and there was a spark of fury in his eyes, the fury that belonged to Harry alone, because only Harry had been able to summon it.

"You could actually die in there Harry." Draco said, and it was quiet, intense. The light smile stayed firmly on Harry's porcelain face. He was flushed slightly, and his eyes were glassy. He resembled one of Narcissa's china dolls, and Draco was hit by how terribly fragile his friend was. He forgot sometimes.

"I'm_ going_ to die in there Drake. I don't know how to fight; I've never learned how to survive in the wild." Draco was shaking his head, trying to block out the painful truth. Lucius just cuddled his second son closer to his chest. The door opened.

"You two have to leave now." A Peacekeeper from the Capitol was standing there. His face was covered by his white helmet, and his gun was cocked lazily towards them. Harry gave his brightest, bravest smile and nodded.

"Oh come off it. That was only a couple of minutes!" Draco exclaimed, jumping to his feet in his anger. The Peacekeepers gun was more firmly in his grip, and Harry knew he would use it if he had to. He placed his small hand on Draco's arm, trying to calm him, even as he sent his most pleading look to the guard, and it was taking everything he had not to shake at the sight of the white uniform. The guard saw his expression and seemed to soften, and Harry was hopeful for just a moment that he could spend just a little more time with his only family.

"Sorry. Capitol's orders." The guard at least looked sympathetic. Harry climbed off of Lucius' lap, and Draco helped him up. The Peacekeeper left with the Malfoy's and Harry was alone again. He brought his knees up to his chest and squeezed them with his arms in an effort to stop his quaking. He allowed himself these precious moments of weakness and by the time he was being collected by Contra and his mentor, Fenrir, he was completely relaxed, and there was an easy smile on his face. No one would know he was terrified. No one but Lucius, and maybe Draco, if he cared to know. As he left the goodbye room, as he had dubbed it mentally, he threw a winning smile at the Peacekeepers he would have otherwise kept his head down around. That was when he was Little Harry Potter, a District 4 favorite, a meek quiet little boy. Now he had to be Harry James Potter, District 4's 74th male tribute, and he hadn't quite figured out how he must act, but he would in due time, and maybe, just maybe he could win this.

That thought flew out the window when his mentors first words to him were "You're fucked." Harry, who had been smiling brightly, glared at him. Fenrir Greyback was a large, physically imposing man, who looked to be in his late thirties maybe. The top of Harry's head only came up to his shoulder, and he was at least a foot taller than Harry. Ginny was only bearing his inspection slightly better than Harry was. "But don't worry kiddos. I'll do everything in my power to make you less fucked than you are." Fenrir smirked, and patted Harry's head condescendingly. Harry breathed deeply and forced a grimacing smile to his face.

"When do we start?" Harry asked as aggressively sweet as possible. Fenrir gave him an amused smile.

"If I hadn't been seeing you around town since you were six, I may have actually bought that perky Capitol girl attitude. Tone it down a little." Harry let the toothy grin fall a little until he was smiling as naturally as possible for someone with a guillotine poised over their head. Fenrir gave him an appraising, almost wolfish once over, and nodded. "Better. We can work on that." Harry let the smile fall completely, and nodded tiredly. Ginny looked between them confusedly. "Now, for you." He turned to her and looked her up and down, occasionally nodding or humming. He spun his finger in a circle and looked annoyed when Ginny just stood there blinking at him. "Well don't just look at me like a retarded cow, _twirl._" He snapped. Ginny's brown eyes were shiny, but she did as she was told. Fenrir watched her for another minutes or so, and then waved his hand at her dismissively. "I'll do the best that I can with you, but you've got to give me something to work with." He rolled his eyes. Ginny sucked in a nervous breath and nodded.

Contra, who had been lurking in the corner, stepped out to the three.

"The train will be leaving in a half an hour. Your belongings have already been placed in your compartment. If you will follow me, I will show you to them." Ginny immediately started after the strange man, but Harry threw another glance at their mentor. Fenrir met his eyes, and Harry could see a plan forming. Harry gazed at him curiously.

"Don't forget to smile pretty for the camera Princess." Fenrir bared his teeth in a parody of a smile and wiggled his fingers. Harry gave him a half hearted glare, before smiling as charmingly as he could and following his unofficial tour guide.

HPHGHPHG

The rooms were gorgeous. Harry's compartment was decorated in all the soft Malfoy blues ("It was red before, but I had them change it just for you!"). District Four was one of the wealthier districts but they never indulged like _this._ The sheets were silky and warm, and the bathroom was the biggest Harry had ever seen. There were all kind of strange taps and knobs, and when Harry turned one thick yellow foam came out of the shower head. A grin lit up his face, the first real one in hours, and had it really been less than 24 hours since his name came out of that bowl? It felt like a life time. Long enough to have been sentenced to death, up rooted, and deposited in a whole new world. Harry glanced at the clock on the wall and it was only 3 o'clock. They had already eaten lunch, before they came on the train. Fenrir had declined joining them, so it was just Harry, Ginny, and Contra. Contra had babbled on about everything and nothing, his purple lips too wide and his yellow eyes unsettling. Everything about the Capitol was strange and foreign to him, but he supposed he was strange and foreign to them too.

Harry glanced around, before stripping and stepping into the shower stall, which must've been seven feet square and doubled as a bathtub. The pretty teen wasted an hour trying to figure out which knob was which, which controlled the water, which the soap, the foam, the temperature, there was even one to lower the opacity of the shower curtain! After he had it mostly figured out, he spent another half hour just bathing. He was just getting out when he glanced at the clock. His eyes widened as he realized it was nearing five already. A surprised laugh bubbled out of his throat. _'Maybe that's why the Capitol people seem so busy despite never having to work. They need to figure out how to work their showers!' _And for some odd reason the idea was so profoundly ridiculous to Harry that he could not stop laughing. And then wasted ten minutes doing that! By the time he realized that someone was in the room with him he was so far gone in his giggles that it didn't even compute. He just laughed harder. Somewhere along the way he realized that he was probably in hysterics, and that's probably why he was crying. Fenrir was standing next to him then, trying to calm him. And eventually Harry did calm down. His face was tearstained and he was out of breath and he was grinning wildly and he kept bursting into giggles. Somehow Fenrir managed to dress him, and somehow got him downstairs. Harry finally snapped out of his little break down as he realized Ginny and Contra were both staring at his disheveled state. Harry coughed awkwardly.

"Harry had a fight with the shower and it won." Fenrir stated in a monotonous, almost bored voice. Harry flushed, and shrugged, but another giggle escaped him and he clapped a pruned hand over his mouth. Ginny shot him an almost betrayed look, as if asking how he could be laughing at a time like this, when they are both on their way to their deaths. Harry giggled again, as if saying, how can I not? Then they sat down to eat their meal and half way through it hit Harry that Fenrir had now officially seen him naked and hysterical. He wanted to giggle at the thought, but all he could manage was a secret grin into his soup. Fenrir kept shooting him these looks, some considering, some pitying, some so strange that Harry couldn't place the emotion behind it. Contra Deviear shot him looks as well, but these were undeniably lustful in nature. The first time Harry identified it he was still not quite right and burst into another insane round of giggles. Ginny was so pale. Her hands were shaking, but her face was unreadable. She was good; Harry had seen her practice with the other Careers in town. She could actually win this, maybe. Harry wouldn't, he knew he wouldn't. Maybe he would dedicate his life to helping someone else survive. Yes, that is what he would do. He would save some lives, and then go out with dignity.

"May I be excused?" Ginny asked in a polite, controlled voice. Harry looked at her through sleepy eyes, and smiled. Ginny was a pretty girl, he decided. Her hair was orange like the sunset and her eyes were brown like chocolate and her face was covered in freckles.

"Oh dear, look at the time! I've kept you two up far later than I should have. Off to bed with you!" Contra exclaimed in his posh Capitol accent. Harry felt floaty almost. Almost like he had had champagne again, like that one time when he thought it was grape juice and it tasted like stars. Harry stood and stumbled slightly. Ginny caught him, and carefully handed him off to Fenrir, who smirked at him with an infuriating, knowing smirk and that couldn't be good at all.

"Hey Contra, why don't you make sure Harry makes it up to bed alright?" Fenrir asked innocently. Harry knew he should feel angry with Fenrir or something of the sort, but he was floating so high that he couldn't feel much of anything at all. _'What was in that soap?' _was his last conscious thought before he was floating in an entirely different realm.

When Harry woke the sun was up and high in the sky. There was a voice coming from the ceiling telling him that they'd be arriving in the Capitol in an hour. Harry dragged himself out of bed and tried desperately to remember the dream he had last night. It was a good one… the first pleasant dream he had had since he was a very small child. It was slipping through his mind like water, evading his grasp. _Tease. _It was with a certain sense of dread that Harry realized that he was completely naked. Quickly he pulled on a dark green shirt and some denim jeans, and wandered from the room. When he arrived in the dining hall he discovered that he was the last one up.

"How are you feeling princess?" Fenrir asked with a WolfishSmirk™. Harry started to glare, but stopped himself. Instead he smiled brightly.

"Like a fucking ray of sunshine. Yourself?" Harry fluttered his dark lashes at Fenrir innocently. The larger man smirked into his cup of coffee, and took a deep gulp of it. Contra gave Fenrir a dark look from his spot by the window and Harry barely contained his laugh. Ginny was currently eating a particularly delicious looking breakfast of sweet bread and raspberry sauce.

"Oh, that looks good." Harry muttered staring at her fingers, which hover in front of her lips.

"Help yourself." She pushed her plate towards him and he took a roll and dipped it in the sauce, moaning slightly at the taste. He let his eyes flutter closed theatrically, and made the licking of his fingertips particularly exaggerated. Ginny was trying very hard to conceal her giggles, a tan, freckled hand covering her mouth, brown eyes sparkling. Harry winked at her.

"How was that Fenrir?" Harry asked angelically. He got an eye roll and a broken mutter about how it was too early to be dealing with hormone controlled teenagers. Fenrir took another gulp of his black coffee and gave Harry a thumbs up.

"That was good, but I think you may have broken our host." Contra was staring at Harry with blown pupils that nearly take over his poison yellow eyes. His too large for life lips were open slightly. This forced Ginny into another burst of giggles, and Harry couldn't help but hope that they were being filmed right now, because Contra's expression is too priceless not to belong on a post card. Harry reached over and used his pointer finger to shut Contras jaw. The Capitol man forcefully shook his head, as if to clear unwanted thoughts from it. His purple hair drifted from his loose bun in a wave, and if Ginny didn't stop laughing soon she was going to pass out from lack of oxygen. Her lips were tinting blue and Harry sent a silent thank you to a god that he didn't believe in that Ginny's last week on Earth wouldn't be as hellish as previously thought. Contra flushed, stuttered an apology and fled the room, and Harry laughed too. Fenrir was smirking, _does he ever stop?, _and took himself and his coffee away to a place where they could be bound in peace.

Harry and Ginny spent the next half an hour eating the sweet bread and raspberry sauce, it really was heaven on the taste buds, and chatting about anything and everything. District 4 was on the edge of the country, and once you reach the beach all you can see is dark murky water for ages. District 4 was where California used to be, and often they sent out boats full of men from District 4 to go lobster fishing, or for other delicacies. Often times District 4 was where the least fish was, but as one of the wealthier districts it wasn't often its residents went hungry. Currently, Ginny's two eldest brothers Charlie and Bill were off on one of those lobster boats so they talked about that for a while. Harry and Ginny had never been close, because the Malfoy's and the Weasley's were constantly on edge around each other, and for the first time Harry could actually see himself becoming friends with the youngest Weasley. And then, like a brick, it hit him. _She is going to die soon. So am I. _So he smiled, and he laughed, and resolved to make it the best damn two weeks Ginny Weasley had ever had.

AN So short chapter this time. I apologize, I have 26000 some words written up, but it's all in one long document, unedited. Still unfinished, have to work on that... let me know if you prefer long or short chapters and I'll try to take that into account. Warning: the longer the chapters, the longer the wait. Also, this is unbeta'ed currently, if you're interested in helping a girl out, (or if my errors are so glaringly obvious that it made your eyes bleed trying to read this) send me a PM.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: The Opening Ceremony

Word Count: 2,999

Rating: High T for this chapter for not so brief non sexual nudity.

Harry and Ginny had already finished eating when the train arrived in the Capitol. They both rushed to the window and stared out. The Capitol city of Panem loomed before them, full of large brightly colored skyscrapers, and small brightly colored people. The train rushed to its station and Harry, Ginny, and Fenrir were led from it like cattle. They took a short shuttle ride to their building, and along the way they saw a man with green skin! Actual skin dyed green! Harry had stared at him wide eyed for almost a full minute before the man had noticed and gave him an odd look back. Harry quickly turned away, fidgeting nervously. His eyes fell on his mentor who was trying unsuccessfully to hide his amused grin. Harry scowled at him half heartedly, keeping his eyes on the ground to try and avoid staring. Too late, he realized, as everyone's eyes were now glued to him and Ginny. So determinedly he raised his eyes and stared right back, a sweet smile firmly in place. He had never seen such a diverse crowd of people before. Their skins were all sorts of different colors, including several shades of blue he couldn't hope to name.

They arrived at the Tribute building with time to spare, and Fenrir immediately jumped into talking about strategies and training.

"In order to stay alive you two are gonna need sponsors. You're both relatively attractive people already, so if you smile pretty, and do everything your stylists tell you to you should be fine." He started, ignoring their blank stares.

"Stylists?" Ginny asked tentatively. Fenrir sighed in exasperation then pointed them to a door silently.

"Your prep team is through there. Harry, yours is further down the hall." Contra piped in. Harry nodded and immediately started walking. He could tell Ginny was a bit more hesitant, but he couldn't worry about that now. He spared once more glance at his mentor and guide, then pulled open the door pointed out to him.

"Oh his eyes are gorgeous! It's practically a crime to keep them covered up with those clunky lenses." A feminine voice immediately exclaimed.

"And look at that hair! The color's so vivid, but that cut makes it _completely _unmanageable!" Another voice trilled indignantly. Harry blinked against the sudden onslaught of harsh lighting, and glanced around the room. There were bright lights all along the ceiling, and in the dead center of the room was a large bathtub. There were mirrors lining the walls, giving a disconcertingly open feel to the room. A shiver raced down the boys spine and he wrapped his arms around himself to try to stop the invisible chill sliding through him.

"Well strip him off then." A brusque male voice commanded. Harry spun to face the man, and all his reflections did as well. He was beginning to get a little dizzy from the double vision. Standing before him was a tall pink haired man. He was thin, almost to the point of being skinny; he had pointy cheek bones and piercing violent violet eyes. Harry yelped as hands began to drag on him, pulling him over to the bathtub in the center of the room. He could see long spindly fingers plucking at his belt, and more hands tugging at the bottom of his forest green t shirt. The man reached over and deftly pulled his glasses away from him, leaving him near blind. Harry gasped as his jeans fell to the floor and the shirt was pulled over his head. He shivered, left in nothing but the boxer shorts he had pulled on this morning, and quickly those were stripped too. He had not spoken a word this entire time, and finally he spoke up.

"Who are you? What's going on?" He asked, and was disgusted to hear the tremble in his voice. He breathed deeply, and tried to ignore the feeling of total vulnerability. It was difficult but he managed to calm himself.

"Oh! Did no one tell you?" Came a surprised voice from his left. Harry sucked in a breath of air, and shook his head, adrenaline making his legs tremble. "I'm so sorry dear, you must be terrified! My name is Crystal and this is Heiress. We're your prep team. We're here to make you as pretty as possible. And that man is Jace, he's your stylist. He designs all your clothes and outfits." Even as Crystal explained gently, her voice retained its bubbly air. "We just need you to step into this tub here, and relax while we do all the work." Harry forced himself to stop shaking and did as he was told, stumbling slightly as he couldn't see. "Heiress, love, will you go get clearance for us to fix his eyes up fast?" she asked, and Harry forced himself not to protest. He couldn't help the whimper he let out when he heard the tell tale snap of his glasses breaking.

"They were ugly anyway." Heiress stated unapologetically. Harry shot a reproachful look in her general direction, though he couldn't be sure it was really her and not a reflection of her. He stayed quiet as they work over him, feeling too unsure in his blindness to make his vocal chords work.

"He's so pretty for a boy. Maybe we should wax him to finish off the image." Harry snapped his eyes open and had begun to squirm away from their hands before he could stop himself. Peering down at him was the blurry image of his stylist.

"Yes, do. There's no way he could ever pull of masculine so it would be better to just present him as androgynous. "Jace stated decisively. Harry shot him a betrayed look, eyes wide and pleading. "Oh don't look at me like that. You know it's true." But Harry had shut down again, emerald eyes squeezed closed in an effort to block out everything they were doing. They finished washing him down and then raised him out of the warm water. Heiress returned with something, but Harry couldn't make it out. He stared at them.

"Now, I want you to keep your eyes open for me pet." Harry instinctively closed them when she raised what he could now identify as an eye dropper filled with an iridescent liquid over his eye. _Do everything your stylists tell you and you should be fine. _The thought ran through his mind and he forced his eyelids to open and stay open. When the first drop hit his eye he closed it instinctively and to his horror found he couldn't open it again. "Very good. Other eye now." Heiress said coaxingly. _Do everything your stylists tell you. Do everything your stylists tell you. _He forced his other eye open and the drop hit it immediately. He snapped it shut and was forced into darkness.

"Relax Harry. They'll open again in ten minutes once the first drop has set. They may start to sting a bit but that's normal and should be over quickly." Came Jacen's calming voice. Harry breathed deeply and forced himself to relax. "After they've set we'll start the waxing. After we finish that we'll put the second drops in. Those will last twenty minutes, and then you'll be all done, okay?" He asked. Harry nodded, and attempted a small smile. After that Heiress, Crystal, and Jace kept up a steady stream of chatter and Harry gradually relaxed. They had spread a foamy substance on his cheeks next and it tingled for a while. Once it started to sting they removed it. His face seemed smoother somehow without it. "Anti-hair growth cream." Jace explained unprompted. Harry flinched under his stroking hands as they wiped the stuff off.

"How long does it last?" Harry forced himself to ask. He surprised himself with how steady his voice was.

"It's _supposed _to last three months," Crystal chimed in, "But it really only lasts two." Harry sucked in a breath through his nose. His eyes snapped open and he almost cried in relief. This whole being naked and blind thing really wasn't for him. He frowned as he realized that the things that were blurry before up-close he could see now. It was still blurry in the distance though.

"That's weird. Is that supposed to happen?" Harry asked, almost completely calm now.

"The silver liquid is for your near vision, to perfect it, and the next stuff we'll put in, the gold liquid is for long distance vision. That's why the second drops will last longer. They take longer to heal your eyes." Jace explained calmly. "We're going to wax you now. This may hurt a little." Harry nodded up at him, and their eyes met. Jacen smiled a little at him, and Harry smiled back. Harry let his eyes wander as Crystal spread the warm wax on to his shins. They spread it in professionally, and Jacen grabbed his hand. "Ready? One, two, three." On three Crystal grabbed the wax and tore it off. A gasp of discomfort escaped Harry before he could stop it. They continued on until his entire right leg was devoid of hair. They all stared at it. Harry, whose legs had already been feminine before, was in shock. "We're gonna put the next drops in now, okay?" Harry nodded and opened his eyes trustingly. The first drop of gold fell in and his right eye snapped shut. Then came the left eye and once again he was blinded. They began to wax his other leg and he allowed it without protest. They continued to wax him of all hair except the hair on top of his head. It wasn't much, since Harry had already been fairly hairless. He briefly wondered what they were doing to Ginny in the next room over. Next his prep team/ tormentors plucked out his eyebrows a bit, 'giving them more shape' according to Heiress. Slowly his eyes began to open and when they did he was amazed.

"I… can see." His voice was blank, his eyes were wide, and a smile was beginning to spread over his porcelain cheeks. He gazed around at the people on either side of him and laughed, sitting up. Then he caught sight of his legs and the smile fell a bit. They were completely bare. They were quite shapely he supposed as he turned them a bit. They had left what little pubic hair he had managed to grow alone, and he was thankful for that. His chest was bare, but then, there was never anything there is the first place.

"Yes yes, jolly good. Now follow me over to this vanity and we can begin on your hair." Harry nodded and stood, avoiding the mirrors as carefully as possible. He caught glimpses of himself but tried to ignore it. They carefully toweled him off, and slid his boxers back up around his hips, then sat him down on a warm metal stool in front of another mirror. Crystal and Heiress stared at Jacen for directions. He hmm'd a bit before telling them, "It's pretty long, which is good for his androgynous look. Just straighten it and spike the ends a bit." Crystal and Heiress got right down to work and began snipping and straightening his hair, texturing here and there and all other sorts of things Harry couldn't even begin to understand. While they did that Jacen swept from the room to do god knows what, leaving Harry alone with the twin terrors.

After they finished his hair they moved on to make up. A splash of eyeliner there, some lash lengthener here, and they were done. Moments later Jacen arrived, some clothes in his arms.

"You look wonderful love. Here, try this on." He commanded and Harry obeyed, sliding the black and green fabric over his head. Crystal, Heiress, and Jacen immediately closed in on him, pulling and prodding the outfit into place. Jacen quickly shooed off the prep team so he could work in peace.

"Okay, so you know how at the opening ceremony its tradition for the tributes to be dressed like something from their district, right? Well we decided, that is, me and Alenna, that since District 4 is fishing we needed something along those lines. So we thought, scales. But that was so horrible mainstream and then we thought nets. And that brought up a whole slew of lovely ideas. And those ideas brought us this." Harry stared at his reflection in the mirror. The outfit was bizarre at best. Covering his chest was a netted mesh material that left nothing to the imagination. He wore nothing beneath it, and it made his pale skin look tantalizing, showing diamond patches from between the knitted black and shiny green threads. His legs were clad in the same material, though he was given iridescent green leggings that gleam in the artificial light. Woven through his hair were bits of metallic netting that made him shine, and there were sparkling patterns curling all over his skin. His eyes were smoky and metallic and he was glowing.

"I look like a prostitute." Harry stated, terror in his voice. "You're not actually going to force me out In front of thousands of people wearing this, are you?" Jacen frowned.

"You don't like it?" he asked sadly. Harry turned to him, and the light refracted off his hair, making patterns that looked like the top of the ocean dance on the walls.

"It's not that, it's just, well, it's a bit, I dunno, slutty, I guess? For national television?" he asked desperately, eyes pleading with Jacen to see it his way.

"I don't think so. A lot of the time tributes just appear naked with the symbol painted on them. So this is rather tame in comparison. Though, we did have to work around those nasty scars of yours." He tsked at Harry who was near to hyperventilating. "Oh, hush. You look fine, the crowd will love you. Now remember. Smile, pout. You're going for sexy. Make the crowd want you." Harry nodded and took a deep breath, before fluttering his eyelashes seductively up at Jacen. "Lovely. Blow some kisses, don't forget to make eye contact with as many people as possible. Let's go." They made their way down the bottom level of what Harry now knew as the Remake Center. Once they arrived they spotted Ginny who was standing with who was presumably Alenna. They walked over to them, and Harry realized she was wearing a similar costume to him. She was wearing the same netted affair as him, but hers had seashells covering her breasts, and her leggings were shorts instead. Her makeup was the same as his and she had the swirling patterns as well. Her firey hair was laced with shiny green netting which caught the light. They were led to their chariot, which Harry, in a fit of hysteria, thought was strangely archaic for such a high tech game. _Maybe the horses are actually robots,_ his mind whispered insanely. They were District 4 which meant they would come out fourth. Only then did Harry realize that the way the netting was designed made it refract a pattern of light in a wave like pattern. _We're going to make a splash. _Harry couldn't stop the giggle this thought elicited and Fenrir placed a hand on his netted shoulder.

"Was it hard working with someone so young?" Fenrir motioned to Ginny who was of course only thirteen. Sometimes Harry forgot. She grew up so fast with those older brothers of hers.

"Oh yes definitely." Alenna said immediately. "We already had these outfits in the works, and we had already decided our theme would be sensual. With Harry we didn't have to change much, other than to make it more feminine, but with Ginny we had to change the whole idea around. We eventually had to go with girlish, because it's the best we could come up with in so short a period." Fenrir nodded. Ginny was glaring at Alenna, probably for the allusion that she was difficult to work with. Harry distracted her by grabbing her hand. She blushed slightly, which was strange, but he'd been doing enough of that lately that he supposed he can't judge.

"Remember Harry. You're sexy; you're innocently seductive, so smile pretty for the camera." Jacen patted his ass once and then their chariot was moving. He breathed deep, before fixing his most seductive smile on his face. They were out in front of the crowd now, and their leggings were sending dancing patterns all around them. Harry barely remembered to make eye contact, but when he did he found it wasn't hard to do. His eyes were dancing over the crowd, and he was breathless. Beside him, Ginny was smiling brightly and waving. Harry blew a kiss to a particularly interested man in the crowd and received a lustful once over in return. He could feel the blush spread over his cheeks and to his mortification he could tell it was visible. He dropped his eyes out of instinct and then determinedly raised them again, continuing to make eye contact with as many people as possible. He could tell he had interested the crowd, and blew a few more kisses for good measure. He fluttered his lashes, and lowered his lids seductively.

"A few more days for a smile and wave." He whispered, and somehow Ginny heard him. She squeezed his hand once at the brutal honesty. Then there was a breathless intake from the crowd and they were focused on something else. They swiveled their heads and saw fire. The tributes from District 12 were on fire. They spotted the other tributes as well, and some were quite stunning, but District 12 took the cake. They were smiling and waving. Harry returned to do his own smiling but no one saw him now. The crowd was transfixed by the girl on fire.

AN So, chapters will probably be around 3000 words each, if that's all right with you. First off, if you want a picture of how Jacen looks just google Jeffree Star. Also, special thanks to Lekaiel for leaving an in depth review that made me smile. Sorry if there are grammatical mistakes, I am but one person, and I wrote the first 13000 words of this in present tense, which is why its taking so long to edit.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: The Training Center, and Cato

Rating: Again, high T for casual nudity, and innuendo.

Last time we saw Harry being bullied by his stylist and wowing the crowd at the opening ceremony.

Word Count: 3000ish

They arrived at the Training Center where they would be living for the next few weeks while they train and do their interviews.

"Up. Floor 4." Contra stated clearly, and the silver doors opened, revealing a clear crystal compartment. They stepped in and it smoothly floated up to the fourth floor, where the District 4 rooms were. When the doors dinged open, Harry and the others stepped into a large room. There was a table in the dead center, laden with food, and only then did Harry realize he hadn't eaten anything in hours. Sitting at the table was Fenrir, who was shoveling the roast into his mouth with reckless abandon.

"Fenrir, you started without us! I'm hurt." Harry smirked at the wolfish man, and all Fenrir did was flip him off, and he didn't even stop to do that. Harry snorted and took his place at the table. "Are you staying for dinner Jacen?" Harry asked, smiling invitingly. Jacen gave him a look and shook his head in the negative.

"Sorry, I've got places to be, clothes to design. But I'll see you at 3 PM sharp on Thursday." Jacen waved his hand. "Ciao." Then he stepped back into the elevator and was gone. Harry just shook his head.

"So what's on the agenda for tomorrow?" He asked in between bites.

"Tomorrow you start training. Ginger and I have her strategy worked out, so it's just you and me tonight." Fenrir said. "Any special abilities I should be made aware of?" he gave Harry an appraising look. Harry frowned, concentrating.

"Um, well, I can swim for one thing." Fenrir gave him a _no shit _look. "I'm pretty good at lying." Harry offered, hopefully. "Oh, and I'm a pretty fast runner." Fenrir looked to be mulling this over.

"Alright, that lying skill could come in handy when trying to get sponsors. And you're probably going to need to run a fair amount, so that'll come in handy." Fenrir decided.

"Fenrir, we both know I'm going to die. I mean face it, I've never fought a day in my life, I cry when I step on bugs, for loves sake! I know in the Hunger Games the mentor picks one of his tributes to send the packages to. I want it to be Ginny. She at least stands a chance of winning this." Harry burst out. He had been thinking about this since he had been picked. "I've seen Ginny wrestling with her brothers; she's strong for such a small person." Fenrir just looked at Harry for a while, and Contra was frozen with his fork half way between his plate and his mouth. The bite of roast fell and that seemed to wake everyone up. "I'm not going to live through the next couple of weeks, but I am going to do everything in my power to help the others. I just hate watching people get hurt." He admitted quietly. His eyes were downcast, and he was gazing at Fenrir from beneath his thick lashes.

"Were you planning to tell me this?" Ginny asked frostily from her place at the table. Her thin arms were crossed across her chest, and she was glaring glacially at Harry.

"Of course I was. You are sitting with us, aren't you?" Harry said simply. Ginny glared at him for a moment more before nodding.

"I think that Harry actually has a chance of winning this as well. He's just selling himself short. He can tolerate huge amounts of pain, I've seen it. If he can just out last the others, he can win this." Ginny gazed into Fenrir's eyes, trying to get him to see it her way.

"Harry's right though, even if he can outlast the others he'd never be able to kill that last person. He just isn't capable of it." Ginny glared around at them huffily.

"Fine. If you want to assist him in his crazy suicide mission be my guest. I take no part in it." She spun on her heel, her silky curtain of red hair whipping behind her and there was silence at the table. Harry gave Fenrir a helpless look.

"May I please be excused?" he asked politely, clearly a bit upset. Fenrir nodded pensively, staring at Harry thoughtfully. Again there was a plan forming, and Harry wasn't sure he'd like the outcome of it.

HGHPHGHP

Harry slid into bed sleepily after stripping out of the feminine clothes Jacen had forced him into. He lay awake for a half an hour trying to decide what to do about the Games which would be upon him quickly, and as he dreamed, he plotted.

_He is in a box with Ginny. She has a knife and she is coming at him. He raises his arms to protect his face, but as he does he realizes that he is paralyzed. With a scream, the knife hits his chest. _

_ He is eight years old and that very same cobble street looms before him. It is twisted cartoonishly, and when the Peacemakers arrive they are out of proportion. When the first whip strikes him, he feels ice. _

_ He is nine and his father is before him. No, it is not his father it is the Peacekeeper. The face keeps twisting until it Lucius. Lucius, his everything. But something is wrong. Peacekeepers and his father are there too, and Lucius is sitting back and watching as they hurt him. Crystal's perfect nails have morphed into hideous claws as she tears off his clothes. The collective laugh all around is awfully, perfectly synchronized. He is falling; there is a hole in that cobble street. Down down down. There is a face and it belongs to none other than-_

Harry woke with a start, breath escaping him in harsh pants, forcing its way passed his lips. Sunlight was shining through the window. For a moment he forgot. He forgot he was not at home, that Lucius would not come sneaking though that door, that he would not be comforted this time. He allowed a tear to escape, along with a horrible shuddering sob. The clock told him it was seven AM and for a moment Harry could imagine Contra swinging a pocket watch back and forth perfectly. The image was not amusing to him, and he dragged himself out of the comfortable bed. As he stood he realized he was naked once again, and he wondered where his boxers kept disappearing too. He started as he realized he was not alone in the room. Standing at the door was a boy, probably about Harry's own age. He was dressed in a strange uniform almost, and it was so familiar to Harry, the way he stood so still.

"Oh! You're one of those Avox' people aren't you?" Harry asked curiously. He had heard of them before of course. Awful punishments dealt out by the Capitol. They were considered to be dangerous criminals, and so their tongues were chopped out. Harry nearly cried when Draco told him that story for the first time. They had been sitting around a campfire, and Harry had believed it to be a story. Terrible, but fictional. Lucius had told him not to worry about it, and so he hadn't. Now he could see that it was terribly, awfully true. The Avox by the door didn't respond to his question other than to flick a look his way. Harry smiled gently at him, and knew that his eyes were probably tearful. "What a sight I must be. Completely naked and hairless, and crying over an Avox. Do you happen to know where my clothes might be?" he asked, voice thick, but as light as he could make it. He knew that he was probably being filmed, but he couldn't quite bring himself to care when there was a tongue less child in the room with him. The Avox nodded and left the room, presumably to pick up his clothes from Jacen. Harry took the chance to study himself in the full length mirror. He frowned once again at his hairless legs and body. While he was feminine before, now he was just downright pretty. It was strange to see himself without glasses; they had always been such a huge part of him. If his eyes had been pretty before, they were beautiful now. Without the glasses to cover them up, they were more vivid than ever before. His lips seemed fuller somehow, though he couldn't recall Crystal and Heiress messing with them. His eyebrows now arched elegantly upwards, giving him an almost aristocratic look. He really looked like a Malfoy now. He smiled at himself and decided that he would use these new stunning good looks to his advantage. He would save someone's life if it was the last thing he did. There came a knock on the door.

"Hey, kid, you decent?" Fenrir called in. Harry gave a noncommittal noise, still transfixed by the strange mirror image in front of him. "Gonna take that as a yes!" Fenrir warned before walking straight in. Harry pouted up at him.

"They took all my hair away." He said sadly, returning his eyes to his still hairless legs. Fenrir gave him an exasperated look.

"Typically when someone asks if you're decent, they're asking if you're dressed." Fenrir told him in a deadpan voice. Harry just looked at him and _hmmm_'d. Fenrir rolled his eyes and walked up behind the shorter boy. Without even a thought he reached over and pinched Harry's bottom. Harry yelped.

"Fenrir!" he snapped indignantly. "What was that for?" he asked, rubbing his hand over the stinging on his backside.

"Ignoring me. Nice place you've got here." Fenrir mused. "Pretty view." He said motioning to the window, eyes still focused on Harry as he smirked.

"Thanks."Harry murmured, staring at the door. Fenrir looked up. Harry had locked eyes with the returning Avox who was holding his clothes.

"No problem." Fenrir responded, even as he knew Harry was not talking to him. Harry took the clothes from the young man and laid them out on the bed. There was a pair of form fitting sweat pant type things, and a jacket with the number 4 on its sleeves. Without a word he slipped them on. "You'll start training today. I suggest you start with learning to build a fire and wield a knife." Fenrir started brusquely. "Oh, and make nice with the other tributes. You never know, you might learn a thing or two." Together Harry and Fenrir made their way to the dining room where they ate their breakfast in silence. Contra was there, chattering away at them. Harry was a bit disconcerted by the doe eyes he kept making at him, and Ginny arrived shortly after, dressed in a matching outfit to Harry's. Harry smiled at her, and Ginny smiled back, though her face was pale. She sat down next to him.

"So what are we doing today?" She asked with a fake smile.

"We're gonna light shit on fire." Harry told her, smiling brightly. She gave him an amused look, and Fenrir nodded.

"Essentially, yes. Learn how to make a fire and set traps. Today is all about survival 101."

"Does Ginny have to make nice with the other tributes?" Harry asked, polite smile still in place.

"Nah. That's not her strategy." Fenrir said with his mouth full of toast. Harry nodded and went back to his sweet bread and cream meal.

"Are Harry and I training together, or separate?" Ginny asked, sitting down and serving herself some pancakes drenched in maple syrup.

"It's up to you." Fenrir said with a shrug. "Ginny is supposed to come off as aloof and fierce. Harry on the other hand is supposed to be a lovable social butterfly."

"So we're supposed to be ourselves." Ginny summarized. Fenrir smirked.

"Yup. Think you can handle that Ginge?" Fenrir asked sarcastically. Ginny just smirked back at him.

"Yeah, I think I can do that." Harry looked between them innocently.

"I feel as if I missed something." He stated aloud, eyes flicking between Ginny and Fenrir, who were now looking at him. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?" he frowned at them, eyes wide and annoyed. Ginny and Fenrir just laughed. "What?" Harry cried.

When Ginny and Harry made their way down to the training room, they were immediately intimidated by the sheer number of people. There were 20 tributes there already, and they were all working on something. The large blond boy from District 2 was sparring with a Capitol guard. The brunette girl, also from District 2 was throwing knives with deadly accuracy. Ginny immediately made her way over to the fire building station, and started watching the two there already. Harry, however, made his way over to the place where the blond was sparring and watched, transfixed. The boy-man moved with a grace that looked out of place on a person his size. He was fighting the guard with fervor and holding his own. He was totally concentrated, ignoring the world outside. It was beautiful, Harry thought. The blond quickly disarmed the guard, and had him pinned. A referee called it, and he jumped to his feet. Harry and the mysterious man locked eyes. Harry's wide eyes gave him the impression of being a deer caught in head lights, and the blond smirked. Harry quickly dropped his eyes to the floor and made his way to the fire building station, his face hot. He could feel the blonds' eyes following him all the way there.

As Harry built his first fire he reviewed his opposition and potential allies. Ginny had already learned the fire skill and had moved on to snare making. There were two other tributes with him at the fire station, a black haired girl with a twelve on her jacket and the male tribute from district five. Harry attempted to strike up a conversation with both of them but the girl from twelve completely ignored him. The District 5 tribute however was content to chat with him while they learned how to make a fire.

"Hi. I'm Harry." The young green-eyed boy introduced himself.

"Alyx." The Tribute from 5 responded, concentrating on his fire. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while. Alyx managed to get his fire going before Harry, though Harry was quick to follow.

"It was nice meeting you Alyx." Harry sent him an almost shy smile, and Alyx gave him a bemused look as he walked away.

Next Harry made his way to the snares. Ginny was still there, and struggling. Harry watched the instructor for a while before delicately setting one up. It wasn't perfect but it was passable. He practiced for a while more, while chatting with the girl from District 11, who was named Rue. She was only twelve, and looked younger. Next Harry made his way over to the camouflage station. Less than a minute later he was joined by the blond from earlier. He smiled up at him brightly, continuing to work on painting his arm to look like a tree branch. It was harder than it seemed.

"I'm Cato, from District 2." The blond introduced himself, sliding next to Harry, close enough that Harry could feel the heat on his side.

"Harry. District 4." Harry spared another look up at Cato, and had to crane his neck. Even leaning against the table Cato towered over him by almost a foot. Harry smiled sweetly, and offered a paint brush to the tall blond. Cato looked down at it and smirked, taking it from Harry's much smaller fingers. He began his work easily, glancing at Harry often. Which was fine since Harry was stealing looks at Cato just as often.

"So, come here often?" Harry asked, breaking the awkward silence in an awkward way.

"Oh yeah totally. I'm just a tribute in the Hunger Games every year." Cato raised his eyebrows at the small fourteen year sarcastically. Harry blushed.

"Yeah, stupid question I guess." He laughed at himself. Cato smiled down at him.

"I noticed you watching me earlier. Scared?" He whispered into Harry's ear darkly, voice dropping to a murmur. Harry looked up at him, and their faces were very close together. Harry laughed again, and smiled up at Cato coyly.

"Me? Scared? You wish blondie." Harry snorted with false bravado. Cato gazed down at him, and the cocky expression slid off Harry's face. "I'm terrified."

"Thought so. You were pretty good at that snare." Cato said casually. Harry met his eyes again, pleased with the praise.

"Really? I've never made one before today." Cato seemed a bit surprised by this information.

"You're a quick study." Cato was talking quietly in his ear again and Harry couldn't help the blush that crossed his cheeks. Cato made the innocent words seem suggestive. Sexual even. Which was not at all fair because Harry was supposed to be the seductive one here.

"You could say that." Harry let his hand brush across Cato's chest as he reached for the gray paint. Cato snickered in his ear.

"I could teach you a thing or two." He offered, shifting closer to Harry. Harry could feel the blond's warm breath on his neck.

"I think I'd like that." Harry whispered back, shifting his head so Cato had easier access to his neck. Cato grinned.

"Take a walk with me tonight." At Harry's nod of assent he closed his fingers around the boy's wrist. "Meet me at the elevator at nine, yeah? I've got something I'd like to show you." And then Cato was gone, leaving Harry with the strange feeling that he'd just had a hallucination.

After that he met up with Ginny again at the knife station. The knife felt comfortable enough in his grip, which wasn't surprising with how often he gutted and cooked fish.

"Thought you were totally hopeless." Ginny said conversationally. Harry glanced up at her, where she was also handling the knife with some level of skill.

"I do all the cooking back home. I'm sure Narcissa would but she's hopeless in the kitchen." Harry shrugged, and Ginny nodded. Throughout the day Harry continued to wander around, picking up a few skills that could save his life.

AN. So I'm not totally satisfied leaving this chapter where it is. I'll try to get the next one out lickety-split so you don't notice. Does anyone else think of rabbits when they hear that phrase? Hmm. So Harry starts being a little slut in this chapter, and you'll see more of his sluttiness as the story goes on. But hey! You met Cato! Review?


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter Four:

Rating: **M. High T? **There be blowjobs ahead. But only in the Livejournal version. Link in my profile. You've been warned.

HGHPHGHP

Ginny and Harry got back to their floor at 5, just in time to eat dinner with Contra and Fenrir. Once again Fenrir had started without them. Harry smiled brightly at him and bounded over to the chair next to him.

"How did the training go?" Fenrir asked.

"Awesome. I made a friend!" Harry told him proudly, and Ginny snorted into her soup in that way thirteen year olds do.

"Did you now? Who?" Contra asked, leaning towards Harry.

"The boy from District 2, Cato." Fenrir nodded pensively.

"A good choice. If you can get him on your side you may have a chance of winning. That is, if you could kill him at the end." Harry's smile dropped, and he picked at his salad broodily.

"I hadn't even thought of that." He muttered. Contra threw him a pitying look.

"I don't think I have ever met a tribute with so little self preservation as you." Fenrir said, and his voice was amazed. Harry glared at him.

"I think I am going to eat dinner in my room. Oh, by the way, in case it is relevant to you, I'll be seeing Cato tonight." Harry stood from the table and headed to his room. While there he ordered some fish dish that he hadn't had in months, and turned on the television. Some girl with strange hair was singing a love song to a man with equally strange hair. With a snort of disgust Harry snapped the program off. With only his thoughts to focus on he slowly ate his meal. At eight o clock he took a short shower and changed into a green sweater and some white jeans. At 8:55 he left to go to the elevator. In the living room area Ginny was speaking in hushed tones to Fenrir and Contra was trying to watch the same program he himself had snorted at. Harry waved at Contra merrily.

He pressed the lobby button on the elevator panel, and hummed to himself as it made its way down. When he reached the bottom Cato was already there. The blond smirked at him

"Ready to go?" he asked easily. Harry nodded, a smile making its way to his face without his permission. They walked side by side out the front door of the Training Center, and Harry looked around at the Capitol curiously.

"Are we supposed to be leaving?" Harry asked, hesitating at the door. Cato laughed at him.

"Don't worry about it. I pulled some strings. We've got two hours before we need to be back." Harry nodded, and followed the taller boy out of the building. The Capitol was beautiful at night. There were all kinds of brightly colored lights, and people were still out and about. There were shrieks of laughter, and the drone of voices all around. Harry could smell gasoline in the air as a purple cab raced by. He stepped back in surprise. Cato was laughing at him again. They spent an entire hour like this, just wandering around the Capitol, seeing the sights. Eventually they made their way back to the Training Center, hair windswept and cheeks flushed with happiness. Harry felt the briefest flash of hope that maybe these weeks leading up to his death wouldn't completely suck. They made their way through the lobby doors and Cato pulled him off to the side, grinning mischievously.

"Come on, there's one more thing I want to show you." Cato smirked, blue eyes lighting up. Harry smiled curiously, and allowed himself to be lead off to a door near the elevator. Cato pulled him into it, and Harry looked up at him oddly.

"Cato. This is a broom closet." Harry spoke to him slowly, as if trying to explain to someone very small. Cato rolled his eyes at him.

"I know that stupid. But imagine all the," He paused and ran his eyes down Harry's body, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. "_Activities_ we could get up to." Harry stared at him uncomprehendingly for a moment, an absurd imagine of Cato and him dressing up as maids and vacuuming popping into his mind. He stifled a giggle.  
"Sorry Cato, but I don't fuck on the first date." Harry laughed at Cato's expression.

"Oh come on. We'll probably be dead in three weeks." Cato argued, putting his hand over Harry's as Harry made an attempt to leave. That made him hesitate. It was true. Almost definitely he would be dead in three weeks tops.

"You make a most convincing argument Cato of District 2." Harry declared, turning around. Cato grinned.

"Finally." He wrapped his arms around Harry's waist, letting his lips trail along the small boys jawline.

"What do you mean _finally?" _Harry asked incredulously. "Do you normally convince people to sleep with you after knowing them for 12 hours?" Cato groaned into Harry's neck.

"Less talking, more kissing, yeah?" he asked, pulling back and glaring at Harry. Harry smiled brightly, a laugh bubbling out of his chest. "Oh great. And now you're laughing. Are you always this flattering to your dates?" Cato threw Harry a dirty look.

"Sorry, sorry. Mental images. Continue with the kisses." Harry waved a hand at him. Cato frowned.

"Thank you." Cato returned to kissing at Harry's neck. Harry tried desperately to stop his giggle this time. Cato pulled back and just stared at him

"Sorry! I'm ticklish!" He defended himself. Cato just let out an exasperated laugh.

"This is not working." Cato told him, pulling back completely. Harry looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Sorry! I'll be good, I promise!" Harry told him earnestly. Cato just shook his head. Harry stood up on his tip toes and pressed a shy kiss on Cato's lips. Cato gave him an unimpressed look. "See?" Harry pressed another kiss on Cato's neck, this one more sure than the first. Cato just watched as Harry pressed a trail of kisses down his chest as he sank to his knees. "See? I told you I could take this seriously." Cato laughed internally. But now Harry was on his knees in front of the District 2 tribute and completely unsure of what to do. Cato looked down at him and laughed.

"You have no idea what you're doing, do you?" Cato asked mirthfully.

"Well fine. If you're gonna be a bitch about it I won't even try." Harry pouted up at him, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Oh don't be like that Harry. I was only kidding. I'll even walk you through it." Cato coaxed him. Harry frowned.

"Promise you won't make fun of me. Even if I'm totally awful at this." He demanded and Cato smiled.

**Gets explicit here lovelies. For the real version visit the livejournal link on my profile. **

"Cross my heart and hope to die." He said, and Harry chose to ignore the mocking tone in his voice. Hesitantly he placed his fingers on Cato's belt. "Open the buckle." Cato commanded, and Harry closed his eyes and just felt.

XXXX

"See you tomorrow love." Cato sauntered from the closet, leaving Harry there to shake on the floor. Quietly he made his way to his feet, grimacing at the quickly cooling mess in his pants. Blushing, he made his way to the elevator and level four. Thankfully he didn't encounter anyone on his way up and once arriving at his floor he rushed to his room, barely stopping to wave at Fenrir, who was sitting at the table, clearly waiting for him.

"Come back out here after you get yourself cleaned up. We need to talk." Fenrir called after him, and Harrys blush deepened. He got to his rooms and changed into a pair of pajamas but not before taking a quick shower. He emerged from his rooms, clad in his sleep shirt and boxers, a flush still on his pretty face.

"You, um, wanted to talk to me about something?" He asked nervously. Fenrir looked up from the novel he was holding and motioned at the chair in front of him.

"Have a seat." He said, returning his gaze to the words in front of him. Harry swallowed harshly. He was having distinct flashbacks to that time in year seven when he had gone home with a friend of his without telling Lucius. Harry plopped down in the plush dining chair.

"What's up?" he asked, trying to maintain an easy smile. Fenrir looked him straight in the eye and asked,

"What do you think you're doing? Your actions are erratic and hint at you having no strategy whatsoever." Fenrir snapped, glaring at him.

"Maybe I don't have a strategy. Maybe my strategy is getting in the clear winners good books and then backstabbing them. You don't know." Harry crossed his arms across his chest defensively. Fenrir inhaled deeply.

"Are one of those your strategy?" He asked, trying to remain calm.

"No. But it could have been!" Harry exclaimed, eyes widening. Fenrir just shook his head.

"You realize that if I don't at least try to make an effort to get you back home alive Lucius will skin me, right?" Fenrir asked, his eyes dark. Harry shook his head mutely.

"Lucius won't care. He knows I'm not winning this." Harry whispered. "He has to know that. Having false hope at this point would be foolishness. And besides, I have a strategy." He declared. Fenrir seemed to deflate slightly.

"Oh thank god. What is it?" He asked, relieved.

"I'm going to keep Cato alive, and then when he's won if I'm still alive he'll kill me." Harry said proudly, obviously quite excited about his plan. Fenrir shook his head.

"Harry that isn't a strategy. That's a suicide plot." Fenrir snapped, apparently drained of his energy.

"Well fine then. Suicide plot it is. As long as I can save someone else's life, I'll die happy." Without further ado Harry stands and makes his way to his bedroom. "Goodnight Fenrir!" he called. Fenrir snorted.

"Night kid." He muttered.

The next morning Harry woke panting. Not from a nightmare this time. He groaned into his pillow at the problem poking him in the thigh. He shivered as it rubbed against the sheets and stood up quickly, making his way to the shower. He took an icy cold shower, and got dressed. Once again, the training clothes were left out for him. He donned them, and shuffled to the table. He yawned and stretched, rubbing his eyes tiredly. His hair was still sopping wet and it soaked his training clothes through in a matter of minutes. Contra tsk'ed at him, and went to find a brush. Harry began to munch on some waffles drenched in raspberry sauce. He made a muffled noise of protest when Contra began dragging the brush through his uncooperative hair. Fenrir looked at him mockingly.

"Late night?" He asked, faking sympathetic. Harry frowned at him.

"Yeah, a bit." He retorted, smiling at Fenrir poisonously. Fenrir snorted, going back to his black coffee. Ginny hadn't gotten dressed yet and she looked adorably rumpled in her pink pjs. Harry smiled a real smile at her.

"How'd you sleep?" He asked gently. Ginny made an unintelligible noise, and waved her hand at Harry. Harry laughed at her, and she pouted at him in return. Fenrir smiled indulgently at them both before realizing what he was doing and wiping his face clean of emotion, but not before Harry and Ginny had seen it and burst into giggles. Fenrir frowned at them and continued to eat his breakfast.

After they finished eating Ginny went to get dressed and they made their way to the training room again. When they got there Harry smiled at Cato, who was practicing with the bow over by the targets. Ginny trotted over to the camouflage station, and began to paint her arm. Harry contemplated joining the District 2 tribute but decided that he was more likely to be able to catch food by fishing and so made his way over to the station about making fishing hooks. He could practically feel Cato frowning at his back. He threw a glance over his shoulder and smiled brightly at the blond, who was indeed frowning over at him. Standing at Harry's side was the large boy from District 11.

"Hi. I'm Harry." Harry said smiling up at the taller boy-man. The man looked down at him, surprised.

"Hello. I am Thresh." He replied, a bemused smile making its way to his lips.

"I couldn't help but notice that you're making your hook wrong."Harry smiled apologetically at Thresh. Thresh frowned.

"I realize. I do not know how to fix it however." Harry smiled brightly up at him.

"Well that's great, because I can help you." Harry looked ridiculously pleased about this declaration. Thresh looked even more confused.

"Why would you do that? After all, I may use this knowledge to kill you." Thresh tried to reason with the smaller boy. Harry looked unconvinced.

"With a fishhook? I dunno, you'd have to have _really _good aim." Thresh rolled his eyes.

"You know what I mean. Harry laughed.

"Yeah I do. I just ask in return that if you do end up needing to kill me that you make it as fast and painless as possible." Harry smiled a bit sadly. Thresh looked down at him solemnly.

"I will do my very best." Thresh promised gravely. Harry smiled brightly.

"Alright. Now the way you make this hook is by…" Harry explained how to do it, carefully walking the large boy-man through the steps, making sure he understood. Thresh eventually got it and thanked the other tribute, smiling strangely at him.

"No problem. Anytime." Harry told him easily. There was a clearing of a throat behind them, and Cato stood there glaring at Thresh. Harry smiled at him.

"Hi Cato. I was just teaching Thresh how to make a fish hook from a bit of wire. Come to join us?" Harry asked casually, turning back to his work.

"No. I was just wondering if you'd like to hang out tonight." Cato invited just as casually. Harry smirked sensually up at him, eyelashes fluttering in an over the top ridiculous way.

"What did you have in mind?" He asked in the fakest breathy voice he could manage. Cato frowned at him.

"Are you making fun of me?" He asked unsurely. Harry burst into a sweet child-like laugh.

"Not at all!" He assured the blond teen. Cato seemed unconvinced.

"Fine. Do you want to come or not?" Cato asked, his voice dipping on the word come. Harry laughed again at the double entendre. Thresh coughed awkwardly. "Oh, you're still here?" Cato asked disdainfully. Harry frowned at him.

"Cato! Don't be rude. Thresh is my friend." Harry smiled at Thresh, who gave him an impassive look.

"You are a very strange child." Thresh declared, before wandering off. Cato smirked.

"Well, now that he's gone. Meet me in the lobby at 7 yeah? You can come up to my rooms and have dinner there." Harry frowned at him. Cato sighed. "What is it now?"

"You weren't very nice to Thresh." Harry said uncertainly.

"So? I'm probably gonna have to snap his neck in two weeks anyway." Cato glared at Harry. "Come on. This is supposed to be a bit of 'I-don't-want-to-die-a-virgin' fun. What's the big deal?" He asked, exasperatedly. Harry sighed.

"Yeah you're right I guess. Just, you don't have to be mean _now, _it's not like it's gonna do anything." Harry looked up at him pleadingly. "Please Cato? Can't you just try to get along with everyone for two weeks?" Cato smirked suddenly.

"I don't know. That's a lot of work. Maybe you should convince me." He whispered in the smaller boy's ear, his hand sliding around until it rested on the curve of Harry's arse. Harry's cheeks flushed and he found himself nodding before he could think about it. "Great. See you at seven in the lobby." And then he was sauntering away and Harry was once again left dazed, and that just was not at all fair. Harry shook his head and made his way over to archery station and picked up a bow. He had never held one before in his life. It was heavy, in a nice sort of way, and he picked it up and notched an arrow. He pulled back the string and took aim, letting the arrow loose. There was a solid _thwang _as it flew through the air. When he glanced up he realized he had hit the thigh of the target. He shrugged, he had been aiming for the arm but it was close enough. He put the bow back and moved on the throwing knifes. This one was harder, but more satisfying when he finally got it to work for him. Then he ghosted over to the station where you learned which berries were poisonous and which were fine to eat. Moments later he was joined by Cato, who stood pressed against his back. They stood in silence, absorbing the life saving information. Half way through the presentation Cato's hand started to trace lazy patterns into Harry's shoulder blades, and Harry shivered. Cato continued to do small things throughout the lesson, tugging lightly on Harry's inky black hair, squeezing his arse cheeks playfully. Harry was nearly moaning aloud by the end of it. Together they began to identify the different berries, with Cato allowing Harry to do most of the work. Harry's face was brick-red by the end of that training day.

The training sessions ended at 3 PM every day, but today was different. Today each tribute would be meeting with the judges individually to be scored based on the danger they represented. Basically you went into a room and showed off for all you were worth. Harry shuddered thinking about it, seeing as he didn't have any particular talents. He supposed he would just do a bunch of things that he knew how to do and hope for the best. Of course, having a high score wasn't very important, but it did help you get sponsors, and Harry could see himself needing a lot of those.

"Bye Cato." He smiled up at the tall blond. "Good luck today." Harry waved and walked out of the room.

"Bye Harry. See you tonight!" Cato called after him, a smirk on his face. Harry glanced over his shoulder at him, amusement on his face. He shook his head and smiled. Tonight was going to be quite the night.

AN/ Again, I'm sorry for the abrupt ending. I didn't write this with chapters in mind. But hey! Blow Jobs! Which you didn't read unless you went to the livejournal version. Hope it wasn't too awkward of a cut. My old teacher is probably reading this. Awkward. Also, this was supposed to be up yesterday, but I was pretty much just vomiting all day so there wasn't much room for editing. This is less heavily edited than it normally is, but if anyone wants to change that and become a beta drop me a line!


	6. Chapter 5

District Four Chapter Five

Warnings for this chapter: I suppose I should mention minor crossdressing. But not really. Kind of.

I think I'm going to officially rate this story M. Which I should've done last chapter, what with gay blowjobs and all.

Later that night Harry was sitting in the waiting room, which was filled with other people. Each judging typically lasted from 15 minutes to 45 minutes and it never reached an hour. The tributes from Districts 1 through4 were in the waiting room at the moment. Glimmer, the girl from District 1 was already out there, trying to impress the judges. Harry had gotten there with Ginny relatively early, per Contra's orders. When Cato had arrived he had walked right over to where Harry had been sitting, picked him up, sat down, and placed Harry in his lap. Harry had blushed, avoiding the other tributes eyes, and allowed himself to be manhandled. Clove, from District 2, snorted at them, before turning away in disgust. Cato stared at her aggressively.

"Problem, sweetheart?" He asked with a mocking smile on his handsome face. Harry frowned up at him.

"Cato. Remember what we talked about? You know, _not picking fights?" _Harry hissed at him. Cato just looked down at him impassively, before shrugging and focusing on rubbing his hand on Harry's thigh. Harry smiled up at him and placed his own smaller hand over Cato's, and Cato sealed their mouths together, ignoring the shouted 'Yuck!' from the District 2 tribute, Marvel. Cato made a rude gesture with his hands.

"Get a room!" Marvel shouted at them, and Harry pulled away blushing, but Cato followed him for one more chaste kiss.

"Jealous?" Cato asked, smirking seductively at Marvel. The District 1 boy laughed.

"Is that an invitation?" Marvel asked voice low and sultry. He made eye contact with the boy nestled in Cato's arms, and Harry squirmed, feeling awkward.

"No way city boy. This one's mine, go get your own." Marvel laughed quietly.

"We'll see about that." He trailed his eyes down Harry's body, uncaring of Cato's dark glare. Marvel's name was called then and he stood to go to his judging. Cato returned his hands to running all over Harry's small body, ignoring all the eyes that were on them. Harry just closed his eyes and tried to ignore it. Shortly thereafter Clove was called. Cato once again ignored it and squeezed Harry's knee. The tributes from District 5 arrived then, and their eyes immediately focused on Harry and Cato making a spectacle of themselves in the corner. Ginny was staring at them outright. Then Cato's name was called and he placed Harry back on his own chair. He winked at the dark haired boy.

"Wish me luck." Harry nodded.

"Good luck!" he called after the tribute. After that Harry just disappeared into his own mind, ignoring those around him. He held Ginny's hand when she came over to him. He cracked an eye open and smiled at her lazily. Soon enough, Ginny's name was being called.

"Good luck Gin." Harry told her. "You'll do fine." Ginny nodded and thanked him hesitantly. 20 minutes later Harry's own name was called. By then the tributes from District 5, 6 and 7 were there and they stared out after him as he left. Harry took a deep breath and stood in front of the judges.

"Hello." He called up at them. "I'm Harry from District 4." He smiled a bit unsurely up at them, and waved a bit. They smiled down at him. Awkwardly he walked over to the bow, took aim, and hit the target next to the bulls-eye. The judges seemed unimpressed and Harry decided to move on to something he was really good at. He breathed deeply and grabbed a knife from the pile. He weighed it in his hand and deigned it good enough for his purposes. He walked over to the dummy and carefully began slicing in all the right places. In moments he had it nearly in pieces. There was a moment of unrest from the judges. He allowed himself to get into his zone and began to fight the unmoving dummies in earnest, his blade glinting in the artificial light as he moved. In less than three minutes he had effectively "killed" five dummies, and there was a bit of applause from one of the judges. He looked up and saw the head GameKeeper looking him right in the eye and clapping slowly. Harry blushed, and bowed.

"May I please go now?" Harry asked sweetly, gazing up at the judges in the innocent little boy way he did so well. The judges nodded, smiling down at him. Harry smiled brightly up at them, letting his gaze linger on Seneca Crane, before spinning and leaving the room. When he checked the clock he realized it was already 5 PM so he made his way up to his rooms, humming as he went. He took his time in the shower, relaxing under the sprays, and making sure he was nice and clean. He climbed out and toweled himself off then made his way to the center of his room, completely naked. He dug through his closet and pulled out some simple clothes, just an overly large t-shirt and some flare jeans. He brushed through his unruly black hair and smiled at himself in the mirror. He glanced at the clock and realized it was about time that the scores would be broadcasted so walked out and joined Ginny, Fenrir, and Contra on the couch.

"Has it started yet?" He asked casually. Ginny smiled up at him.

"Nope." Fenrir answered gruffly, popping the 'p'. Harry smiled at Fenrir and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"Sorry for being such a bitch yesterday." He murmured in the older man's ear. Fenrir nodded, and smirked at him.

"No problem. I've just never had to the problem of a tribute sneaking out to be with their boyfriend before." He commented dryly. Harry laughed lightly.

"I'm seeing him again tonight if you don't mind. At seven." Harry told the rough man. Fenrir grunted his full attention on the screen that was now on the 74th Annual Hunger Games. It listed the tributes in order of District so Ginny and Harry would come 7th and 8th. Marvel was first and he got a nine. Glimmer second, she got a 7. Then Cato was up and he got a ten. Harry sucked in a deep breath at that, seeing Cato's devilishly handsome face with that flashing number beneath it. Clove got an eight. The group on the couch held their breath collectively. Harry's old school photo flashed up on the screen, and god he was wearing that awful uniform. Flashing underneath the photo was a large, yellow eight. He released his breath and stared at it in disbelief. How in Panem had he gotten an _eight? _Ginny's photo was up on the screen now, a six below it, and the two stared at each other in shock. Fenrir smiled.

"Congrats kid. You may actually win this thing yet." He said grimly. Harry nodded numbly, getting up and wandering from the room. Vaguely it registered that it was only 6:45 and he wasn't due to leave for another ten minutes at least, but he was already in the lift, pressing the down button. He wandered into the lobby, and finally allowed the relief to register. Relief that he may not die a horrible painful death right away.

"Wow, an eight. Had no idea you had it in you fish boy." Came a drawling voice behind him, and he spun on his heel. Standing behind him was Marvel. The blond boy smirked at Harry, stalking towards him like a jungle cat. Harry took a step backwards, unsure of himself.

"Hi Marvel. What are you doing down here?" Harry smiled nervously, still backing up. Marvel shrugged casually.

"Oh you know. Just hanging out." He told Harry drawlingly. Harry nodded.

"Oh, that's nice. I'm just waiting for Cato." Harry told him, having now reached the elevator. Marvel nodded.

"Have… _fun._" Marvel drawled suggestively. Harry's face flamed at the innuendo. "See you around." Marvel waved and then moved passed Harry into the elevator. _That was weird. _Harry thought to himself. And then Cato was there, smiling at the dark haired boy.

"Ready to go?" Cato asked silkily. Harry nodded, smiling up at the much larger boy in front of him. Cato and Harry climbed into the sleek elevator and made their way up to level 2. It wasn't much different from level 4, Harry noted, but there was a larger emphasis on stone work, rather than netting and fish. Which made sense, what with District 2 being the stone District. Standing in the room glaring at them was Clove. Her dark eyes were filled with contempt and her coal black hair was swinging in waves around her face. Harry offered her a friendly smile, which was very pointedly not returned. Harry faltered, and stepped behind Cato meekly, emerald eyes dropping to the floor in front of him. Cato grabbed his wrist sharply and tugged him to his own room.

"We'll eat in here." Cato told him softly. Harry nodded, and smiled brightly up at his protector of sorts. Cato smiled back, but his smile was darkly seductive. Harry blushed and sat down on the bed in the center of the room. The walls were a deep gray, and the carpet was done in a soft white color. Harry smiled nervously up at Cato.

"Where do you want me?" He asked awkwardly. Cato laughed at him.

"Just stay there while I order alright? Anything in particular that you're craving?" Cato asked, smiling at the boy in front of him. Harry hummed uncertainly.

"Not really. Order for me?" He requested sweetly. Cato smirked down at him.

"Sure thing." Cato typed something into the tablet designed exactly for this purpose. "Done. Now we wait." They didn't have to wait long, however. The steaming food arrived minutes after it was ordered. Harry took a bite of the pasta Cato had ordered for him and moaned slightly. It was like a mini orgasm for his mouth. Cato smirked at the illicit noise that issued from the teens mouth, and Harry blushed, closing his mouth. The pasta really was fantastic, drenched in a creamy alfreado sauce. The pasta itself was a strange pink and green shade, but Harry was able to get passed that quickly. He and Cato actually had a really good time. They laughed quite a bit, and told each other stories about themselves.

"When I was little I used to run to my friends house every night at six. They only caught me once."Harry told Cato, grinning. Cato laughed.

"What happened when they did?" Cato asked a smile on his handsome face. They happy grin slid off of Harry's. He shook his head once, and smiled again.

"Nothing too bad." He dismissed casually. Cato frowned at him for a moment, before letting it go. They didn't go any further than a bit of kissing that night and at 10 PM on the dot Harry made his way back to level four. Cato didn't comment on the 8 he got in training.

"You're back earlier than I thought you would be." Fenrir commented from the couch. Harry nodded.

"We had dinner and talked for a while, but that was it." Harry told him, a silly smile on his pretty face. Fenrir grunted in acknowledgement.

"Probably a good thing." Contra sniffed at him. "You have your interviews tomorrow." Harry nodded unthinkingly. Those were going to be buckets of fun. "Be out here by eight." Contra told him. He seemed upset for some reason, and Harry stifled a giggle as he realized that his representative was probably jealous. Harry turned and began his walk down the hallway.

"Good night you two." Harry called over his shoulder, a cheeky smile on his face; green eye's alight with mischief. Fenrir grunted again. That night Harry lay awake for hours, thinking of what the interview was going to be like.

The next morning Harry awoke bright and early to his mentor standing over him, grinning like a maniac. Harry squeaked.

"Rise and shine gorgeous. You've got an interview to get to." Harry groaned.

"The interview isn't until five!" He whined.

"So?" Fenrir asked. "We've got to give Jacen time to make you look pretty." He taunted. Harry moaned into his pillow.

"Go away you fiend!" He muttered, but began his process of waking up anyway. Fenrir laughed at him.

"If I can get up this early so can you! Don't bother showering by the way. Jacen has got that covered." Harry groaned as he realized he was about to be naked in a room full of strangers… again. He dragged himself out of his oh-so-comfortable bed, and climbed into some clothes without thinking, not realizing quite how provocative they were. He wandered from the room, and down to the living room area, where they ate their breakfast. Fenrir wolf whistled at him, and Harry gazed at him bizarrely.

"Hey princess, trying to send a message there?" Fenrir asked laughing. Harry frowned at him and glanced down. His eyes widened and he blushed, turning around and trying to escape back to his room to change. "No! Don't change! I'm sure Jacen will draw much inspiration from that colorful outfit." Fenrir cackled again and Harry glared at him, pouting, but didn't continue trying to leave. He was clad only in some gauzy pants that were practically see-through, with only his silk black boxers beneath, and a v-neck sweater, with quarter sleeves. Blushing he sat down, and began to eat his purple waffles. _Honestly, the Capitol has some of the strangest food styles. _He thought to himself, thoughts of see through clothing gone from his mind already. Ginny was sitting next to him, not having bothered to change from her fuzzy pink pajamas. Harry smiled at her kindly.

"Hey red. How are you holding up?" He asked. She smiled tremulously and Harry knew that this had been 100 times harder on her than it ever could be for him.

"Oh you know. The usual. I've watched a lot of Capitol telly. Some very strange things get on telly up here." Ginny told him, nose scrunched up a bit at the thought of all the bizarre television. Harry laughed quietly, and patted her hand.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be home soon." He told her brightly. She gave him an unimpressed look.

"Sure, Mr. Eight." She told him snarkily. He just shrugged.

"Just because I'm quick with a knife doesn't mean I'll be anything but useless in an arena." He was quick to correct here. She just shrugged back at him and went to her waffles.

"Why are they purple?" She asked curiously. Harry just laughed while Contra tried to explain the intricacies of Capitol food. After they finished Jacen and Alenna whisked them off to some deep dark room.

"Love the outfit, by the way." Jacen whispered in his ear and Harry blushed. Jacen just laughed. "Don't be so modest! You look fine." Harry frowned at him and picked at the gauze. There was a wolf whistle somewhere behind him and he spun just in time to see Cato's blonde head disappearing around a corner. Harry sneered at Jacen's boisterous laughter. That day he was poked and prodded to his full girly potential and then Jacen set him up with this not dress that was really a dress. It was some fishnet tights, with some shorts over them. Then over that was a white camisole and over THAT was a mesh thing. His hair was pulled into careful spikes and for a moment an image flashed into his mind of a pink haired girl, but it was gone before he could fully place it. Then, as if the fishnet dress and tights weren't humiliating enough, they were forcing him into heels. Well, they were sleek black combat boots really, but they had a definite heel on the back!

"Oh calm down princess. You're overreacting." Fenrir tsked at him after he was returned to level four with strict orders not to mess up his makeup. Harry ignored it of course, causing Jacen to order Crystal to follow him around all day. Harry was really rather upset by this order, and did everything in his power to lose the well-meaning prep. Of course, this upset her to no end, and Harry spent most of his time to trying to quiet her wails of misery. During which she made sure he wasn't messing up his makeup. Clever bitch. This went on until the interviews were about to start, and Crystal led him from his bedroom and out the front door until they were on their way to the interviewing center. Again, along the way they saw no end of interesting people. He was stared at of course, with his fishnet attire and feminine features. Ginny was there too, in a flowing gold dress with mesh gloves. Harry frowned at her.

"At least you look normal." He told her, annoyed. Ginny laughed at him.

"This is nowhere near normal for me." She told him. Harry pouted and got a leer from a nearby man for his troubles. He glared at the ground sulkily. "Cheer up Harry. We're about to be on national television. We can reassure our loved ones." She pointed out and Harry perked up grudgingly.

"Fine, yeah." He muttered and Ginny laughed at him again. He rolled his eyes at her and they started to chat about everything and nothing while their stylists obsessed over their makeup. Fenrir was drinking a questionable substance from a silver flask and Contra was chatting happily with the man that had leered at Harry earlier. Harry made a quiet noise of annoyance. God knew Contra didn't need any encouragement. They arrived at the interview center without any trouble and were soon standing in an antechamber that led to the stage. Again, the tributes from District 1, 2, and 3 were already there. Cato waved Harry over and manhandled him into his lap, ignoring Jacen's snaps to not mess up his makeup. Cato smirked and kissed Harry deeply, shoving his tongue down the smaller boy's throat. Marvel sneered at them.

"Well if it isn't the little love birds from District 2 and 4." He taunted, but Cato and Harry ignored him in favor of more kissy sexy times. Marvel glared at them and waved a hand by their faces. "God, do you two even need to _breathe_?" He asked, amazed. "Whatever." He muttered walking away, and back over to Glimmer. Harry could feel the tingly sensation start in his toes, and pulled back, panting.

"We should stop. We'll be on live television soon." He told Cato reasonably. Cato gave him a look.

"So?" Harry rolled his eyes, and swatted at Cato's wandering hands. Glimmer, the tribute from District 1 was going first. Her outfit was clearly meant to be provocative. Marvel went next, dressed like a killer. Then Clove, and she was clad in a forest green dress, that looked a bit awkward on her. Then it was Cato's turn. Harry watched as the blond took the stage. Caesar, the interviewer, has dyed his hair a powder blue for the occasion. Harry watched avidly.

"So, District 2, what's your name?" Caesar asked brightly. Cato smirked.

"I'm Cato Malone." He introduced himself. Caesar nodded, and smiled plastically at him.

"So Cato, what does it mean for you to be here for the 74th annual Hunger Games?" Caesar asked, looking genuinely interested.

"It's definitely an honor Caesar. I've been training for these games my whole life." Cato told the blue haired man honestly.

"And you got a ten for your trouble, isn't that right? A very impressive score, I might add." Caesar turned to the crowd for the last bit, and they cheered right on cue. Cato smiled winningly out at them all.

"Thank you, it means a lot." Cato said gratefully. The crowd went wild.

"So Cato, what is this we've been hearing about a special romance brewing between you and another tribute?" Caesar asked, smiling naughtily. Cato laughed.

"I wouldn't say romance, exactly, but we definitely are going somewhere with this." Cato smiled secretively. There was a unanimous _oooh _from the crowd. Behind the scenes Harry's face was bright with a blush.

"And he's quite the catch." Caesar commented.

"Yeah, pretty little thing isn't he?" Cato asked with a smirk. There was laughter and Harry glared at the screen.

"Oh, might not want to let him catch you saying that. He looks like quite the firecracker." Caesar said, and there was more laughter from the crowd.

"It's true. The kitten has claws." Cato smirked again and Harry snarled under his breath.

"Well, it looks like our time is almost up. It was nice meeting with you Cato and we wish you the best of luck with your little love interest." Cato smiled and shook Caesars hand before waving at the crowd once and descending from the stage.

"Next up we have Luna from District 3!" After that Harry tuned him out until Ginny was called to the stage.

"From District 4, Ginny Weasley!" Caesar called and Ginny gave Harry a panicked look before making her way on stage. Harry looked at her encouragingly until she was out of sight, and on stage.

"So, Ginny, how do you feel about being entered into the Hunger Games?" Caesar asked her with a winning smile. The 13 year old gazed at Caesar eyes wide.

"I've never been more frightened in my life." Ginny told him, in a small voice. Caesar looked down at her sadly for a while. There was a sad sigh from the crowd.

"I'm so sorry to hear that dear." Caesar told her, placing his larger hand on top of hers. Ginny nodded mutely. The crowd awed at her, and Ginny blushed slightly.

"So, Ginny, you got a six in training. That's pretty good for someone your age." Caesar told her gently and Ginny nodded looking up at him bravely. Harry's heart broke for her.

"Yeah I guess so. I'm pretty good at wrestling." Ginny told him, brightening up marginally. "I have 6 brothers so I learned to stand up for myself pretty quick."

"Wow, six brothers? What's that like?" Caesar asked amazedly.

"It's pretty cool. My brother Ron is only a year older than me so I'm really close to him." She told the blue lipped host. He smiled at her sweetly.

"That's so great. Well, that's all the time we have. Ladies and gentlemen, Ginny Weasley!" Ginny smiled tremulously and curtsied before nearly running off the stage. Harry stood up, wobbling slightly in his heels and made his way up to the stage after being beckoned.

"Harry Potter, District 4!" Caesar announced and Harry smiled brightly and waved.

"So Harry, may I call you Harry?" He asked and at Harry's nod continued. "You are looking fantastic tonight. Your designer has really outdone himself." Caesar said. Harry smiled at him, ducking his head slightly.

"Thanks. I'll give him your praise." Harry told Caesar, smiling sweetly. Caesar returned it.

"Cato better watch out, I might just steal you from him." Caesar teased jokingly. Harry laughed.

"Good luck with that. The guy is super possessive." Harry told Caesar laughingly. Caesar grinned at him.

"So Harry, what inspired your look?" Caesar asked, gesturing to the fishnet tights and combat boots from hell. Harry groaned.

"My stylist decided I was too girly to pull off masculine so they said they would go for the 'androgynous' look. I think they did just so they could put me a booty shorts and fishnets. I mean, honestly, I kind of look like a stripper." Harry told him, exasperated. Caesar laughed.

"You look ravishing lovely, don't worry." Caesar told him, winking. Harry laughed, and it was a clear tinkling sound.

"You have a pretty laugh." Caesar commented and Harry's cheeks flamed.

"I'm sorry; I'm just not used to this kind of attention." He said from between his fingers. Caesar laughed again, and pulled his hands away gently. "I bet my prep team is frothing at the mouth about my ruining my makeup." Harry told him with a smile.

"Oh posh. You look fine." Caesar told him with a pout. Harry smiled at him.

"Tell them that. They're demons I tell you!" he told Caesar dramatically. Caesar grinned at him.

"So what's this we hear about you and a certain tribute from District 2?" Caesar asked mischievously. Harry laughed.

"Cato's already told you all the dirty details." Harry said with a shy smile.

"Yeah, but we want to hear it from your side." Caesar said coaxingly. Harry laughed slightly.

"There isn't much to tell really!" He insisted. Caesar booed at him.

"Oh come on! Give us something to work with!" Caesar pleaded.

"Um well. I'm kind of sad right now, because I know it can't last very long, what with the games and all." Caesar made a sympathetic noise. Harry smiled slightly. "But we're gonna make the most of the time we're given. I plan on helping him survive for as long as I can." Harry told the crowd quietly. There was silence for a moment, and then everyone was awwing the star-crossed lovers.

"An honorable desire." Caesar told him respectfully. Harry nodded up at him, emerald eyes soft. "So, do you have any special talents we should be aware of?" Caesar asked, recovering the atmosphere admirably. Harry smiled at his efforts.

"Not really anything ground breaking. I'm pretty good with a knife. And I've picked up some skills along the way that should really help me." Harry shrugged modestly. Caesar grinned at him secretively, but what secret he was keeping Harry would never know.

"Well, good luck Harry Potter, and may the odds be ever in your favor." Caesar told him.

"I don't think they can be for this." Harry said softly. Caesar gazed down at him sadly, and nodded.

"Good luck then." Caesar said, and Harry heard someone start crying in the audience. "Ladies and gentlemen Harry Potter from District 4!" there was thunderous applause, and Harry bowed blushing. He stumbled off the stage and straight into Fenrir's arms.

"You did great princess." Fenrir told him, smirking down at him. Harry smiled up at him brilliantly.

"That was terrifying. I didn't think there'd be so many people." Harry told him, gazing out at the crowd. Fenrir smirked some more and led him off to the car that would bring him back to the training center. Ginny was already there, looking very pale, but smiling at her stylist. They appeared to be deep in conversation about something or another and then the car was leaving. They ate a quick dinner and Harry smiled and waved at them all before going to bad. He stripped out of the sexy outfit and slid into some pajamas. And by pajamas he meant a baggy t shirt and some boxers. Which he hadn't been allowed to wear underneath the outfit. Harry was delighted to be back in his bed. God he was so tired. He slid into his bed after washing the ridiculous makeup off and slept for hours.

_Cobble stone streets. Excruciating pain. Masks, and a spark. Cold. So cold. Falling. Dark. _

AN/ Extra long chapter for you all! For being awesome! Hope you like it as much as I do. Seriously, I feel like a total narcissist reading this. Chapters will probably be out quicker now, since less editing. Ginny's interview made me sad. Mostly because I think she ended up coming across as a pitiful bitch. But Harry was cute right? Appropriately flirtatious?


	7. Chapter 6

District Four Chapter Six

Rating: high T this chapter, M overall

Warning for this chapter: The Games in all their gory entirety. No gore this chapter though

_Cobble stone streets. Excruciating pain. Masks, and a spark. Cold. So cold. Falling. Dark. _

Harry woke with a start and a curse. That fucking dream again. And even worse, he had the games today. Fear slid down his spine like a piece of ice. He shivered. He climbed out of bed and took a long shower, allowing it to relax his muscles. He got dressed in some comfortable clothes, just until Jacen gave him the clothes he would be wearing in the arena. Fenrir grimaced at him from the doorway.

"Come eat breakfast." Fenrir requested softly, and Harry nodded, swallowing hard. He might die today and the thought was hitting him hard. As they passed Ginny's door they heard the sound of her dry heaving and Harry grimaced.

"Maybe I should…" He starts, hesitating in her doorway. Fenrir shook his head.

"Come eat. You may not be able to in the arena." Fenrir told him, voice quiet but stern. Harry swallowed hard and again and kept walking. Once at the table Fenrir placed eggs and toast on his plate. Harry started to eat, but they were dry in his throat and kept getting stuck. He choked down some milk, but it was tasteless. Ginny arrived eventually, face pale as death. She took a few bites of toast, but stopped after another round of nausea hit. After they finished they were transported to the arena and dressed by their stylists.

"So you're being given a heat reflective suit. That means it'll probably get cold at some point. Try to get supplies if you can, but stay away from the cornucopia. Got that?" Fenrir asked with a growl. Harry nodded shakily. "Good luck kid." Fenrir wrapped his arms around him, and Harry hugged back with everything he had, blinking back tears. He stepped back into the tunnel that would take him up to the arena. Harry shivered, and waved one last time, taking a deep breath and calming himself. By the time he was spiraling upwards there were no signs of tears anywhere on his face. He smiled bravely, and looked around at the other tributes. Cato caught his eye and made a slight motion with his head. Ginny smiled at him as well as she could and glanced out towards the forest. Harry's eyes narrowed in on a pack, right next to a wickedly gleaming hunting knife not far from him. He sent Fenrir a mental apology.

"10… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5…" there was no time for hesitation. He would have to move fast otherwise he might as well not go. "4… 3… 2…" He was poised for quick movement. "1!" there was a gunshot and Harry was running. He reached the pack and the knife as soon as someone else did, but he had grabbed the knife first and he let his hand slash out without thinking. There was a cry of surprise as the person drew back in shock, touching the bloody gash on their cheek. Harry was running to the woods now, not looking back, relying heavily on his hearing to tell him about attacks. He neatly dodged a knife thrown at his back, reaching down and grabbing it as he ran. Then he was hitting the trees, and still never looking back. He ran for what felt like an hour until he could hear no one else. He sat down by a tree heavily and took inventory. Two knives, a vicious hunting one and a spritely throwing one. The hunting one would be good for hunting and gutting animals if he could catch them and the throwing one would be great if he got chased up a tree or something. In the pack there was a water canister (empty, goddamn game makers) some nuts, some dried meat, a sleeping bag, and some string that would come in handy when setting traps. There were some matches hiding at the bottom as well. Well those would come in handy. He began to look around at his surroundings, thinking of the time that he and Draco had gone 'camping' in the woodsy area behind his house. Draco had gone inside before they even fell asleep but Harry stayed out, enjoying the night air. He had gotten yelled at of course, but whatever. He started to look at the behaviors of the animals around him, wondering where they got their water from. There were animals so he knew there was one somewhere. He hoped that the lake in the center of the arena wasn't the only place. A twig snapped behind him and he spun around holding his knife. Cato was standing there, holding his hands up in surrender. Harry back away, terrified. He might actually die on the first day.

"Relax. I'm not gonna kill you. I'm actually quite fond of you. Come join the Careers kid." Cato coaxed. Harry looked at him uncertainly, not lowering his knife as he hesitated. Cato smirked, taking another step forward and Harry took one step back. They walked like this for a while until Cato's hand flashed out, wrapping around Harry's wrist, forcing him to drop the knife.

"You think I'm gonna let you go that easily? I'm almost offended." Cato whispered in his ear, and Harry shivered in his arms.

"Fine. Where are we going?" Harry muttered, eyes downcast, wrist still firmly in the blonds grasp. Cato smirked triumphantly.

"Back to the cornucopia." He announced, pulling Harry around, grabbing the boys pack as he went. Harry gazed after him hesitantly.

"Cato. Why are you doing this?" Harry asked helplessly.

"Because I like you." Cato told him matter-of-factly, turning around and facing Harry again. "Especially your mouth." Cato breathed in his ear, too low for the camera that was following them to pick up. It caught Harry's blush though.

"Cato!" He hissed, face flushed. Cato laughed at him. "What are you gonna do when I die? When you have to kill me?" Harry asked softly, eyes downcast. Cato grasped his chin, finally relinquishing his wrist.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now…" He grabbed Harry's hand, tangling their fingers. They began the long walk back to the lake and cornucopia. They arrived back early, it hadn't even begun to get dark yet. The others gave them mildly distrustful looks; there was a gash down one of their cheeks and Harry started when he realized he had inflicted it. The girl was glaring at him. Harry made eye contact apologetically.

"What's he good for anyway?" The blonde girl from District 1 asked snappishly. Harry recalled her name was Glimmer.

"He's good with a knife." Clove spoke up, glaring even more fiercely. Marvel laughed.

"That's not the only thing he's good with." Marvel joked, eyes locked on Harry. Harry frowned at him as the girl, Glimmer, laughed. There was another boy there too. Harry looked at him questioningly.

"That's Peeta. From 12." Cato answered his unasked question and Peeta raised a hand awkwardly. "He's our best bet at finding that girl who got an eleven." Cato explained. Harry caught a glance of the pain and anger in Peeta's eyes and knew that his goal was not to help them. He made a mental note to let Cato know at some point, but left it for now. "You know everyone else, right?" Cato asked, and Harry nodded shyly. Marvel smirked at him suggestively and Glimmer sneered. Harry blushed again, looking away and allowed Cato to grab his hand and pull him down next to him. They were sitting around a small bonfire by the lake and all of the supplies were stacked in a pyramid nearby. Harry frowned at the structure.

"How do you guys plan on protecting the supplies?" he asked absently.

"We were just brainstorming." Glimmer told him. Harry nodded, eyes scanning the pile. A thousand mini ideas popped into his head and were quickly discarded. They could thread some netting around it. Or store it inside the cornucopia itself, protecting it from the elements and three sides.

"Why didn't you store it in the cornucopia?" he's asked curiously. They just looked at him, confused.

"Well, you just have it out in the open there. Why not build it in a pyramid inside the cornucopia to protect it from the elements and such?" Harry asked, confused. Glimmer opened her mouth to retort but couldn't think of one.

"That's not a bad idea fisherboy." Clove said reluctantly. "I still don't like you." She felt the need to tack on. Harry nodded resignedly.

"Sorry about your cheek. I thought you were trying to kill me." He told her nicely, smiling.

"Oh, I was." She snapped at him, point blank. Cato glared at her. She shrugged. "All's fair in the games." She said, unapologetically. Marvel smirked.

"So Harry. What do you think made Cato so… excited to find you?" Marvel asked leadingly. Harry glared at him.

"Maybe he noticed how good I am with a blade." He said threateningly. Marvel laughed, and Glimmer smacked him lightly. Cato snarled lowly at Marvel.

"You should keep your comments to yourself Marvel. We wouldn't want to have to end your life prematurely now would we?" Cat asked voice dark. Marvel held up his hands in surrender.

"Chill. I was just kidding." Marvel rolled his eyes, but smirked at Harry. Harry frowned back at him, and Cato wrapped an arm around the green eyed boy's slim waist. Harry smiled at him, eyes relived.

"So we'll move the supplies to the cornucopia." Clove announced. "Then what?" Harry glanced around in concentration.

"We could have a full time guard?" Peeta suggested unsurely. Harry nodded absently.

"That would be a good thing to have anyway." He commented. Peeta slid closer to him.

"We could set up a trap of some kind." He said, talking to Harry this time instead of the group. Harry nodded.

"Maybe like a snare, only person sized. We'd have to do the calculations to figure out where somebody would be most likely to step, or we'd just have to set up a ton of them." Harry pointed out the flaws in the logic. Peeta nodded.

"Or we could just put netting over the side of the cornucopia, and set up a sort of door in it. That way we could all sleep in there as well." Peeta was really getting into it now. Harry's eyes lit up.

"Is there enough room? If there is we could make a whole camp out of it." Harry was talking fast now, excited about the idea. Peeta looked over at the cornucopia critically.

"I think there should be. If there isn't we can either leave the camp outside, or only put the important things in there." Harry nodded.

"Do we have the netting needed?" Harry asked. He glanced around at the group and Marvel nodded.

"We should, I think." He shrugged.

"Even so, this is a brilliant idea." Peeta smiled at the brunet, a strange look on his face and Harry glanced away uncomfortably… only to see Cato glaring daggers at the other blond. Harry frowned.

"Something wrong Cato?" He asked, touching Cato's arm gently. Cato looked down at him and shook his head, gaze softening.

"_So_, should we start moving the stuff then?" Marvel asked, clapping his hands once, and Peeta nodded. "Cool." The blond from District 1 stood up and made his way over to the supplies, grabbing a few sleeping bags and bringing them to the cornucopia, which was about thirty feet away. Clove, Glimmer and Cato also stood. Harry and Peeta followed quickly. Harry wasn't much in the physical strength department so couldn't carry much. Peeta however was like a bulldozer scooping up multiple items and carrying them without strain. While they were walking Peeta and Harry discussed ways they could protect the supplies. They played with the idea of a human guard ("too much room for error, we need a back up.") They ended up deciding on threading a thing of mesh netting over the front, which would catch stray arrows. ("Fairly unnecessary, we have the only bow." Peeta had pointed out.) Then they began to set up tiny clanging metal bits that would alert them if someone went in or out.

"Like a spider web." Harry smiled delightedly. Peeta nodded proudly. It really was a work of art. By nightfall they had their camp and supplies set up inside the cornucopia, a thick net falling over the top. They had strung bell like pieces of metal, objects they found lying around, anything that would make noise really from the net.

"Who'll be first guard?" Glimmer asked, looking grudgingly impressed with the structure they had set up. Cato raised his hand.

"I will." He volunteered. Harry nodded.

"I'll help too, if you'd like." He offered; shy now that he was out of his element. The others looked at each other and nodded.

"Glimmer and I will go after you two. Wake us at three, or as close as you can get." Marvel said simply. Cato and Harry nodded, slipping to the front of the stage like structure, and setting up in the front, behind the net, throwing knives and bow and arrow at their side.

"No one's going to be stupid enough to attack us tonight." Cato said self assuredly. Harry frowned.

"I dunno, if they were going to attack, it probably would be tonight. We're still getting our bearings, and are at our weakest." Harry pointed out. Cato shrugged.

"They're at their weakest too though." Harry nodded, staying silent. Cato gazed at the side of the boys face. Harry looked around idly.

"This place is so reflective. I wonder if we could find a way to make a searchlight of sorts out of it." Harry pondered aloud. Cato smirked at him.

"Are you sure you aren't from District 3?" Harry laughed.

"I like metal." Harry shrugged. Cato grinned.

"Ah." Harry threw him a sideways look. Cannon shots went off, and they glanced towards the sky reflexively. Another. Another. Nine cannon shots. Nine people dead on the first day. They showed the faces and District number. Everyone from Districts 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. The male tribute from 5. That left only thirteen people left in the arena. Harry shivered, and it had nothing to do with the cold, though the temperature was dropping rapidly. Together they gazed out towards the forest area, and Harry silently thanked whatever deity was listening that Ginny was not dead yet. Harry glanced over at Cato.

"Do you think you're going to win?" Harry asked softly, glancing up at the strong jawed man. Cato smirked cockily.

"Of course I am. There is no doubt in my mind." Cato declared. Harry frowned, and sighed unhappily.

"When you have to kill me, make it as quick as possible, kay?" Harry requested softly. Cato froze, and stared down at the messy mop of hair.

"I'll do my best." Cato murmured, subdued. Harry sent him a brilliant smile.

"So what do we do for the next, oh 4 hours?" Harry asked, smiling sweetly, bumping his shoulder against the older boys. Cato glanced down at him with his trademark cocky smirk firmly back in place.

"I can think of a few things." He whispered in Harry's ear. Harry laughed and pulled away.

"Cato!" He exclaimed in a mock scandalous voice. "We are on national television, in case you've forgotten." Cato grinned.

"What are the Hunger Games without some gay sex?" Cato asked sarcastically. Harry laughed back at him. "Besides, we'd probably make over half of them extremely interested." He cajoled the brunet. Harry just smiled.

"I'm sure if the Capitol wanted us to screw on their T.V. show, they'd send us a sign." Harry said grinning. Cato glanced up theatrically, half expecting a metal capsule to fall from the sky.

"Well, if we get a frivolous gift, we'll know." Cato winked at the grinning boy and they stayed quiet for a while, just sitting and watching the night.

"People are dying out there." Harry commented idly, and Cato frowned down at him.

"Yeah, I guess. Why do you bring it up?" Cato asked, not even flinching at the thought of death.

"I don't know. A friend of mine is out there. She's never hunted anything in her life. She might starve to death." Harry muttered. Cato wrapped an arm around the dark haired boy's small waist.

"Stop thinking about it. Just relax." Cato murmured in his ear. Harry nodded, emerald eyes shadowed. For the next hour they sat in silence, until the darkness overwhelmed them and they woke up Marvel and Glimmer. They slipped into their tent and fell fast asleep, Cato's arms wrapping around Harry's waist. As they slid off into dream land Harry heard a slight mechanical whirring.

AN/ Relatively short chapter I guess. But hey! You're in the games! I think this story will be in the ballpark of 12-15 chapters probably. I still need to finish writing before I catch up with myself!


	8. Chapter 7

District Four Chapter Seven

Rating: Mish. Tish.

Warnings: Boy on Boy flirting. Some angst coming up I think.

When the pair next woke, the sun was shining in the sky. Peeta was outside checking all their defenses, making sure they were working well.

"You know, a gust of wind is going to make those things go crazy." Cato commented as he walked out. Harry nodded.

"There doesn't seem to be much wind in here though. If wind does occur we can tighten the strings so that they won't move as much." Harry said. He glanced around at the other people at the camp. They were eating their breakfast and Harry grabbed a bit of dried meat and chewed it slowly. "We should probably think about setting up some snares, or going out and hunting." He commented. Cato nodded.

"Marvel is pretty good at those." He said, gesturing at the blond in question. Marvel looks at them tiredly.

"What am I good at?" He asked wandering over to them.

"Snares. We should set some up." Harry told him frankly. Marvel nodded and cast a lingering look at Harry before wandering away. Cato glared after him.

"Let's go hunting." Clove announced with an evil grin. Peeta looked faintly ill at the thought. Harry looked around at them, confused.

"For food? We don't have to hunt for that quite yet." They laughed like a pack of hyenas.

"Not for food Harry. Tributes. I say we go after that girl from District 12 today. What do you think Loverboy?" Marvel asked cruelly, gazing down at Peeta. Peeta gulped slightly, unnoticeable for anyone but Harry.

"I think that's a great idea." He said bravely, head held high. Harry stared at him for a moment, wondering if he should tell the others about the imminent betrayal. He decided against it. He was here for Cato, not the others. Harry kept quiet, just watching the others. Together they set off into the forest, leaving behind the boy from District 3, whose name was Terry, to watched the camp. The traveled using Peeta's directions for a while, and eventually their efforts were rewarded.

"There she is!" Glimmer pointed to a spot higher up stream and soon they were giving chase. They followed the girl for a while and stopped at the tree she had climbed up. A tree higher than he could climb. Cato immediately started scaling the tree after her, but a branch gave way ten feet up and he fell to the ground with a muffled groan. Harry knelt next to him and checked him over for injuries quickly, finding none.

"Let me try." Glimmer said annoyance in her voice. She pulled out the bow she was none too adept with and aimed at Katniss' head, missing.

"What about you 4? Any ideas?" Clove asked nastily. Harry just looked at her frowning for a moment.

"We wait her out obviously." He rolled his eyes. Peeta nodded from his spot by Harry's shoulder.

"She can't stay up there forever." Peeta agreed. They set up camp quickly and efficiently, the other careers throwing taunts up at her regularly. Harry and Peeta stayed quiet, just watching the girl from District 12. Harry sent Peeta sideways glance. They were sitting apart from the rest of the group.

"You love her." Harry stated. Peeta jumped.

"What? No way. Would I be with you guys if I did?" He asked nervously, voice near to stuttering.

"You're going to save her. Don't worry, I won't tell. I don't care about the other Careers. As long as you stay away from Cato, we can be friends." Harry told him steadily, and Peeta stared at him hard.

"Okay. You caught me. I love Katniss. I'll stay away from Cato and you won't tell." Peeta affirmed what Harry had already said. Harry nodded and then walked over to the group, leaving Peeta behind.

"What were you and lover boy talking about over there? You looked awfully cozy." Cato growled in Harry's ear, and Harry smiled.

"We were talking. Peeta's really nice." Cato snarled and gripped Harry's waist tight, pulling the smaller boy into his lap. Harry cuddled into him, unperturbed by Cato's foul mood. The other Careers were smirking at them, and Cato glared them all into submission. Harry just stayed relaxed in Cato's lap.

"Clove will take first guard." Marvel announced. He had been the only one not smirking at them, and instead he glared at Cato. Cato glared back and Harry shifted uncomfortably in his lap. Cato dragged Harry off into the woods a bit and pressed harsh, claiming lips against his.

"You belong to me, do you understand?" Cato whispered lowly and intensely into the brunet's ear. Harry nodded breathlessly. "Good." Cato pressed another unforgiving kiss on Harry's lips and they walked back to the campsite. Up in the tree Katniss was fast asleep. Harry lay down on the ground, curling into a ball. Cato slid behind him wrapping a large arm around his waist, holding him securely to him. Harry smiled to himself and fell fast asleep.

Harry woke at day break, stretching slightly. He opened his eyes and they fell on the sight of Katniss awake and sawing away at a branch, which was attached to a wasps nest. He jolted awake staring at her in fear. If that was a trackerjacker nest… Harry shook Cato awake. The blond groaned at him.

"Cato. Come with me. There's something I want to show you." Harry acted quickly, designing a strategy without much though, forcing his voice to be lower and provocative. Cato smirked up at him.

"Already? Alright." They walked out together into the woods, and Harry led him further and further. "I think we're far enough out Harry." Cato frowned down at the other tribute. Harry smiled nervously up at him. That's when the screaming started. Cato spun towards them, knowing they were coming from their little camp.

"Come on." Harry grabbed the larger man's hand and they took off running, making sure they were out of range of the jackers before stopping.

"You knew whatever happened was going to happen." Cato stated staring at Harry. "Why didn't you wake the others?" Cato snapped. Harry looked at him.

"My loyalty is to you, not them." Harry replied with brutal honesty. Cato stared at him silently.

"Fine. Alright. I accept that. What do we do now?" Cato asked shortly, spinning around and pacing. Harry shrugged.

"Hadn't thought that far ahead." He commented wryly. Cato frowned at him. A bird cawwed loudly from their right and Cato jumped. There was a mechanical whirring and Harry spun around. "What is that noise?" He asked in annoyance.

"What, the motor sound? Those are the camera's Harry." Harry stared at Cato.

"They were in our tent last night." He whispered, sounding a bit horrified. Cato smirked.

"I imagine they were. No one wants to miss out on the hottest couple since Finnick Odair." Harry frowned, and shook his head as if to forcefully clear his thoughts.

"Oh well. It's been a while, should we go back and check on the others? We could tell them we went for a quick grope in the trees." Harry asked Cato. Cato nodded and they turned towards the temporary camp site. When they arrived Cato sucked in a deep breath. Clove lay on the ground, face swollen almost beyond recognition. Harry froze, horrified. _I did that. _He thought the words like a mantra in his head. And of course, he hadn't really killed her, only by omission. Cato stood and glanced at Harry, divesting the girl of her knives and handing them to him. A cannon shot went off. Harry whimpered inaudibly faced with the idea and reality of the first death he had witnessed. He knew he would be seeing more before the week was up.

"Come on." Cato grabbed his arm and pulled him off, back in the direction of the lake. When they reached it they saw the others tending to their stings. Harry quietly went and helped Marvel while Cato helped Glimmer. Peeta was gone as well, having run off with the girl from District 12. Marvel was snarling his anger at the blond boy. Harry used gentle fingers to apply the burn salve to the stings, and Marvel quieted down, just staring at him. Harry avoided his eyes.

"Where were you and Cato then?" Marvel snarled.

"Went off into the woods." Harry responded quietly, voice barely audible.

"Couldn't keep your hands off of each others, huh?" Marvel sneered, and Harry flinched.

"Why are you being so mean? I'm trying to help you." Harry continued his gentle ministrations. Marvel ignored the words and let a smirk curl onto his face.

"Did he fuck you, right there with the cameras watching?" Marvel breathed and Harry flinched away again, hands going still and pulling back. He frowned up at Marvel.

"If you're going to be a bitch about it I just won't help." He announced, turning his back on the tribute from District 1. Marvel laughed cruelly. Without another word Harry stalked off, wandering over to Cato.

"Weren't you helping Marvel?" Cato asked looking vaguely amused at Harry's thunderous expression.

"He was being a whore." Harry pouted. A startled laughed escaped Cato and he glanced around, looking for cameras.

"Language Potter. We are on live television." Cato reminded him with a smirk. Harry shrugged.

"They're watching people die. They can handle a couple of naughty words." Harry snapped, still looking annoyed. Cato shrugged.

"What did he say?" Glimmer asked, surprised.

"He asked if Cato fucked me in front of the cameras." Harry muttered petulantly. Glimmer laughed.

"That sounds like Marvel." Glimmer agreed. Harry smiled at her quietly. Cato stood up and declared her as fixed as she was gonna get. Glimmer frowned.

"Hang on, where's Clove? And the boy from District 12?" She asked, confused. Cato stiffened.

"Clove is dead, and loverboy was a traitor." He spat. Harry flinched away from his angry tone unconsciously. The boy from District 3 was off near the cornucopia, checking their feeble defenses. Marvel was sulking angrily by their camp fire. So far all they had seen was Katniss, there were no sign of the other tributes.

"We should go hunting tomorrow. For actual food." Harry said, hurrying to make sure they knew what he meant. Cato frowned down at him.

"Why? We have plenty." He asked. Harry shrugged.

"We don't have much fresh meat though. And fruits." He was quick to add. Cato shrugged.

"Your call princess." Cato told him. "You can do your hunting while we do ours." Cato grinned wolfishly at Glimmer who grinned right back. Harry shivered, fear coursing through his veins. _I am surrounded by killers. _The sudden thought nearly caused him to panic, but then Cato turned around and pressed firm lips against his own and all thoughts disappeared in favor of kissing back. It was over quickly, but it left Harry feeling light headed and dizzy. Marvel had walked over sometime during the kiss.

"How cute." The blond sneered. "If you two are done, there is the matter of deciding who will take first guard." Harry and Cato glanced at each other. Harry didn't like the way Marvel was smirking at them. "Harry and I can do it." Marvel announced, a leer on his handsome face and Harry glared at him, plastering himself to Cato's side.

"No thanks. Cato and I can do it. You guarded last night." Harry smiled fakely at him and Marvel sneered again.

"Alright then." He glanced toward the blue sky. "It's still early. If we use our time wisely we can hunt some." Glimmer looked up at him from her spot on the ground.

"We got stung by tracker jackers Marvel. Only once maybe but still enough to keep us down for a day or two." Glimmer reminded him. Marvel shrugged.

"Then Cato can go." He said. "Doesn't matter to me." Marvel slumped to the ground looking up at Cato expectantly. Cato snorted.

"How about we go set up some snares Harry?" Cato suggested, exaggerating for Marvel benefit. Harry and Glimmer frowned at the two boys.

"I'm sensing some tension." Glimmer announced. "Come on Harry, we can set up some snares ourselves." She limped to her feet, her beautiful face strained with the effort. Harry nodded, following after her without protest. They slipped quietly into the woods, wielding knives and a bow and arrow.

"I know what you're doing Marvel. Quit." Cato snarled, advancing quickly towards the not quite man on the ground. Marvel sneered up at him.

"You know, do you? Tell me, oh great one. What am I doing?" Marvel asked voice thick with sarcasm. Cato glared down at him fiercely.

"Flirting with Harry. Being cruel to him. You're playing with him Marvel, and I don't like it. That boy is mine." Cato declared, face dark. Marvel snorted disbelievingly.

"Oh, he's yours is he? How does he feel about this little title of ownership?" Marvel asked mockingly. Cato snarled again, voice low and rough.

"Keep your paws off of him Marvel. I will not hesitate to kill you." Cato's voice was soft and deadly, and Marvel had no response.

Back in the woods Harry and Glimmer were having a conversation not so different from Marvel and Cato's.

"SO. You and Cato. What's going on there?" Glimmer asked casually, flashing a pretty smile at Harry. Harry smiled back timidly.

"I blew him in a supply closet." Harry declared, and Glimmer choked on air at the blunt statement.

"Ookay. Why?" She asked laughter in her tone. Harry shrugged innocently.

"He convinced me that we would both be dead in a couple of weeks, so what was the point in dying a virgin?" Harry concentrated on the snare in his hands, setting it up perfectly. Glimmer sat back and watched a grin on her pretty face.

"So you just blew him in the supply closet, no questions asked?" Glimmer laughed aloud this time, mirth marking her voice. Harry nodded.

"He gave me a hand job back, in his defense." Harry muttered, eyes on the ground. Glimmer giggled musically.

"How old are you, even?" She asked, looking amazed.

"Fourteen. You?" Glimmers giggled died a little at Harry's answer.

"You're only fourteen and you're blowing people in a supply closet?" She asked incredulously. Harry blushed fiercely.

"He convinced me!" he exclaimed, face hot with humiliation. Glimmer frowned a bit.

"I never would've pegged Cato as the type to hook up with kids in a supply closet." She mused. Harry's face continued to burn red.

"I'm not a kid." He pouted up at her, eyes petulant. He took a moment to revel in the clear vision. It had been several weeks and he still wasn't used to it.

"What are you gonna do when you die, or something?" Harry frowned at her, confused.

"Well, I'll be dead so probably just lie there." Glimmer rolled her eyes at Harry's honestly confused response.

"I mean if Cato dies and leaves you behind." Harry shrugged.

"I guess if Cato were to die I'd try to win. I don't really have much of a chance though." Harry smiled self deprecatingly. Glimmer glanced him over.

"You've made it to the top 14 already." She raised one perfectly formed eyebrow at him, her swollen arm hanging uselessly at her side. Harry shrugged again.

"Luck. Not to mention Cato." He said shortly, finishing up his second snare and moving on. Glimmer followed him smirking.

"Have you two banged yet?" She asked, looking morbidly fascinated. Harry's face flushed bright red again.

"No! Glimmer!" Harry exclaimed, face hot. Glimmer giggled.

"Come on. Let's make our way back to the camp. The boys are probably done duking it out by now." Harry frowned at her but obliged, their feet moving towards the lake. A scream erupted from nearby, and Glimmer and Harry took off running. Just in time to see the girl from District 3 hanging lifeless from Marvels hands, her blonde hair flowing over his arms in a wave. Harry stared and Glimmer gave a relieved laugh.

"I thought you guys were in trouble!" She called, walking over to them. Marvel flung the small corpse away from him uncaringly. Harry couldn't move; he was glued to the spot. Fear raced through his veins and he stood stock still until Cato appeared in front of him, a smile on his face.

"Hey. Hellooo. Panem to Potter? Anybody in there?" Cato joked, waving a large hand in front of the smaller boys face. Harry flinched instinctively, horror on his pretty face. Cato's smile faded a bit. "Oh come on sweetie. You've got to get over this killing thing of yours. It's not a big deal." Cato shrugged easily and Harry stared at him, fear making his pulse beat fast.

"Not a big deal? She had a life Cato. She had a family. A family who just watched her die. Someone out there is crying for her, and it's _not a big deal?" _ Harry snarled, voice cracking. Cato stared at him helplessly.

"We're in the Hunger Games love. People die." Cato held up his hands peacefully, but Harry wasn't fooled by the act. Cato was dangerous, but hadn't he known that already? That those big hands that had brought him off so easily could snap his neck just as quickly. Harry shivered and gazed up at the young man that he had fallen for so quickly, feeling very small and scared. Cato wrapped those killer hands around his tiny waist and Harry nearly sobbed when those lips touched his. Through it all, he couldn't bring himself to hate or even fall out of love with the ruthless killer in front of him. They kissed quietly for a moment, Harry's jumbled thoughts sliding away leaving behind a peacefully blank slate, and he focused on not thinking about it. They moved away to their camp, and a hovercraft came and took the body away. There was a faint whirring of a camera and Harry gazed straight into it, his fingers interlaced with Cato's. Crystal tears flowed down his cheeks in rivulets and he sniffled unobtrusively. Cato squeezed his hand and kissed the top of his head.

"I know something that could distract you." Cato growled in his ear. Harry barely contained his sob.

"Can we just go to sleep? Please?" Harry begged softly. Glimmer and Marvel were staring at the two of them bizarrely.

"We have guard duty first, remember?" Cato reminded gently and Harry nodded, sucking in a deep breath.

"Right. Let's do that then." He made his way resolutely to the opening of their stage, staring outwards blankly. Cato forced a small container of dried fruit into his cold fingers, and Harry smiled gratefully at him, not wanting to be near the others. He chewed on it slowly, and it felt like sand between his teeth. The sun was sinking rapidly now, falling behind the trees. The water reflected the orange hues dazzlingly and Cato grasped Harry's hand. Harry smiled tiredly.

"Til death do us part." He whispered, a grim sort of pleasure falling over him like a cloak. Cato's hand squeezed his smaller one and Harry made a scared little noise.

"You will make sure it's fast right?" Harry asked, voice small and frightened. Cato untangled their fingers and wrapped his arm around Harry's shoulders. Harry shuddered and leaned into the bigger teen's warmth.

"It'll be like falling asleep." Cato promised, whispering in his ear. Harry drew in a shuddering breath. There was an odd blinking noise and they glanced up towards the sky. A small metal capsule attached to a parachute feel towards them and Cato slowly untwisted the cap. Inside was a small vial of a clear liquid. Cato gave it a startled look and Harry laughed bitterly.

"Did they really just send us lube? Now, of all times?" Cato asked incredulously.

"Obviously our following is getting antsy." Harry leaned up and brushed his full lips against Cato's thinner ones. They kissed in the falling sunlight and ignored the world around them. Marvel and Glimmer had snuck passed them and into their tents respectively. The boy from District 3 was next to the lake, mourning the death of his friend. Cato gripped Harry's hips and slid the smaller boy into his lap, ignoring Harry's subdued protests. That's how they sat for the next few hours, intertwined. Harry fell into a light doze at some point and Cato moved him to the tent, waking Marvel to take over. Cato curled up around the small form, molding himself to the slim back, placing the vial of lubricant off to the side with a look of distaste, and maybe a hint of longing.

AN: SO, late update is sad update. I've been gone for two weeks ish. I was in Missouri and then I went to CONvergence. I'm trying to get two chapters out by Saturday though. Did you miss me? Also, check out my awesome fanart on DeviantART by Sitriel and Lekaiel. Also, Placebo is a nice band. Oh, and the writing part of this story is finished, all I have to do is edit. There are probably three chapters left? Maybe four? I have a sequel planned out, but I don't know if I'm going to write it. Maybe someday.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

**Rating: M. Hard. Attempted rape, well marked for your skipping. Marked by the symbol ***scene*****

The next morning Harry woke alone, to the sounds of a sickening snap. He darted out of his tent, only to see the lifeless body of the other District 3 tribute fall from Cato's hands. Harry's hand rose over his mouth, a small squeak escaping him. Cato just looked at him silently, and motioned over to the food supplies.

"He was allowing another tribute near us." Cato snapped. Harry shivered and cringed away from Cato's bad temper and wandering hands. Cato just gripped him more tightly. Harry shuddered more deeply, and pulled away.

"Okay." Harry agreed softly, forcing his voice to stay steady. Cato just gazed down at him, annoyance in his gaze.

"I will not let you guilt me for winning." Cato snapped, eyes dark. Harry nodded.

"I'm not trying to guilt you." He said complacently, eyes dropping submissively. Cato grunted, eyes sweeping over Harry once, then nodded and turned.

"We should split up and then reconvene later. Glimmer and Marvel. Harry and I." Cato announced, looking over at the other tributes. Harry made eye contact with Marvel before glancing down uneasily. Glimmer agreed, grabbing Marvel's wrist and dragging him towards the woods. Harry wrapped his fingers around Cato's and looked up at him loyally. Cato smiled gently down at his little lover and they too left for the woods, taking a different direction.

They walked for several hours mostly in silence, stopping for only minor breaks, and once for lunch. They sipped sparingly at their water bottles and kept an eye and an ear out for other tributes. They had been walking for hours, the sun already faded, when something finally happened. Cato stopped abruptly, grabbing Harry's wrist, holding his pointer finger up to his lips in a signal for silence. They both listened attentively, eyes glancing around them. Then Harry slid his eyes upwards and very suddenly made eye contact. The eyes blinked once and Harry's own eyes answered the blink with a wide eyed stare. Cato followed his eyes upwards and grabbed the bow from his back.

"Gotcha." Cato whispered, a smirk curving his lips. Harry saw the other tribute before Cato. A large hulking figure lay concealed in the shadows, a figure Harry recognized as Thresh. Then the girl above them was most likely the girl from District 11. Cato's hand pulled back, arrow already notched, and Thresh pulled out his spear.

"Cato no!" Harry shouted, but too late. The arrow had been let loose, flying for the girl in the tree. The spear had been loosed as well, making its way to Cato with deadly accuracy. Harry stood frozen, horror making him useless.

And then something very strange happened. A fire spread through his veins and time stopped. Not in the sense of actually stopping, but the arrow and the spear froze in midair. Harry gazed at them, and they stayed suspended. As soon as he broke eye contact, they fell to the ground with a clatter. He stared at them in obvious confusion, his rush of sudden energy suddenly gone, and Cato stared too.

"…the hell?" Cato asked, summing up everyone's reactions very accurately. Thresh stared for a moment more, then glanced up to where Rue was… or at least, where Rue had been. She had taken advantage of the momentary distraction, melting away into the darkness. Thresh followed suit, his tall frame surprisingly silent in the woods. Cato spun around, staring at Harry.

"Tell me you didn't do that." Cato said amazement in his voice. Harry shrugged helplessly.

"Maybe it was the Game Makers? They didn't want us all dying so soon? I don't know." Harry tried to explain. Cato just gazed at him, confused.

"But they just stopped? How did they just stop? Can the Game Makers do that?" He asked. Harry shrugged again, and tried to ignore the chill that choked his spine at the memory of that electricity running though his veins. They way time had just stopped at the exact moment he needed it to. He wrapped his arms around Cato and Cato hugged him back tightly.

"Let's just go to bed, okay? Set up camp." Harry whispered in Cato's ear, tugging him over to the base of a large tree. Cato nodded numbly, wrapping his hand around Harry's smaller one. They set up their sleeping bag and crawled into it together, just barely fitting into it. Harry curled up tightly against the man he guessed he could call his boyfriend. They smiled slightly at each other in the dark, and Harry pressed his cold and slightly chapped lips against Cato's. Cato slid his arm into the sleeping bag and let his hand rest on Harry's thigh. Harry giggled restlessly and Cato smirked at him, beginning to rub teasing circles on the boy's upper thigh. They kissed quietly for a little while longer; tongues rubbing against each other, Harry letting Cato do as he pleased. There was no battle for dominance, just quiet kissing in a dark forest, in a too small sleeping bag, pressed tightly against each other. It was peaceful, in a painfully arousing sort of way. They fell asleep late in the night, and slept hours past sunrise.

When they awoke it was to a cracking of a branch nearby. There was a shriek of pain and a muffled shout and then another cry of pain. Cato and Harry stared at each other, neither quite daring to breath. Harry slowly pulled the zipper of their sleeping bag down, breathing slowly and raggedly. They got to their feet, silent as the dead. Not twenty feet away the bodies of Glimmer and Rue lay dead, Katniss standing near them, staring down at Glimmers dead body with something akin to horror. Harry began to back away silently, but Cato grabbed the bow and arrow. Harry could do nothing but watch as Cato notched an arrow and pulled the string back. For the first time in his life, Harry wished that that arrow would fly straight, and hit its target with deadly accuracy. Cato let loose and Harry felt the same strange electricity from the night before. The arrow veered slightly and struck the tribute from District Twelve square in the chest. She didn't even have the time to look surprised before she fell, staring down at the arrow protruding from her heart. Cato rushed over and stabbed her with a hunting knife quickly and efficiently, to make sure the job was done. Harry looked away. Bile rose in his throat, and a certain kind of terror overtook him at the thought of taking another person's life. Tears rose unbidden to his eyes. Cato walked over, leaving the girl's body where it had fallen. He placed blood soaked hands on Harry's waist, and kissed his forehead comfortingly. Three cannon shots went off. Harry shuddered, and they both returned to their camp wordlessly. They picked up their items and Harry placed his hand on Cato's arm.

"Let's not go back to the lake." He requested in a small voice. "Not yet." Cato thought of the only person left besides them and agreed wholeheartedly. They walked quietly, just wandering, not going in any particular direction. They were mostly silent on their journey, hands clasped in a pathetic attempt at comfort. Cato's thoughts were reeling as he contemplated the boy beside him, and for the first time questioned his ability to kill.

Harry set up a few snares, and Cato built a fire. The sun was high in the sky, and it would be blistering hot in direct view of it. The sunlight filtered through the leaves in a dappled display of green. Harry smiled gently around. A brief mental image of fairies flashed before his eyes and he shook the childish thought away with a smile. Unbeknownst to him he was being watched by a deeply troubled Cato. He was deeply troubled by this… this _burning _in his chest. Every time he looked at Harry, there was just this warmth, and it was freaking him out. Cato stood and grabbed Harry's hand, tugging him down next to him. They settled on the grass, just looking around peacefully, thinking on how their lives had changed in so short a period of time. How their lives were going to change. To be lost in the wind most likely, or to live the rest of their days in the lap of luxury. Harry wondered if Lucius and Draco could see him right now, if they had seen him and Cato… the thought send a shudder down his spine. This was not how he had planned on coming out. Harry banned the thoughts from his mind and willed himself to relax in Cato's arms. He went back to check on his snares, and brought back the rabbit one had caught, resting it over the fire on a spit. Cato pulled out their canteen, offering Harry a sip, which he gratefully accepted.

"We're going to need to find a water source soon." Cato commented idly, glancing towards their metal water bottle. Harry nodded, inhaling the scent of cooking meat deeply, mouth watering. They quickly ate the rabbit meat once it was cooked and moved on, searching out a source of water. It didn't take them long, finding it quickly enough. It seemed like the world was conspiring with them today, and Harry knew instinctively it was the Game Makers doing. He frowned at the thought, knowing the rest of his life would be manipulated by a few people in a white room, and viewers content to watch them die. Not a very inspiring thought. Together they trudged on, hands intertwined, and canteens once again full. The sun was starting to fall, and they set up camp a few miles from where they had been before. Cato gave Harry an odd smile as they began to fall asleep after their slow day. They had managed to scale a tree and set up, tying themselves to the branch with what little rope they'd brought.

"Only seven of us left." Harry muttered sleepily into Cato's shoulder. Cato nodded, wincing. A small, microscopic part of him wished that Harry would die the next day… because he didn't think he could kill him. There were three people in the sky that night.

The next morning the almost lovers woke to bright sunlight, and cheerfully chirping birds. It was mocking them, Harry could tell. There was a flower wilting from the warmth in the air and they quickly wiggled out of their heat reflecting sleeping bag. Harry glanced around, spotting a flash of brilliant red… but then it was gone. Harry shook his head, glancing around uneasily.

"I don't like this. There are only seven of us left; the Game Makers are going to get bored soon." Harry muttered to Cato. The blond smiled gently down at the dark haired boy before catching himself and coughing gruffly.

"I'm sure we'll be fine." Cato whispered back, unwillingly kind. Harry smiled brightly up at him, encouraged in spite of himself.

"What do we do now?" Harry mused. Cato smirked wolfishly and with a pang Harry thought of Fenrir, his gruff mentor back home.

"Hunt." Cato growled, looking far too happy about it in Harry's opinion. Harry frowned.

"Alright, I guess we could do that." He muttered. He sent Cato a wicked grin. "Or we could do other things." He whispered into the blond's ear, uncaring of whether or not Cato was interested. In all honesty, Harry was just tired. Of all the death and running. His only saving grace was that it was almost over and that he had Cato. Cato, who was laughing at him.

"You know, we haven't actually done anything besides that time in the supply closet." Cato said. Harry grinned.

"Because we just have so much time and energy to spare out here." Harry laughed. Cato thought it made his entire face light up. Cato also thought that he was going soft and that he had to stop thinking sissy thoughts. Harry stood on his tiptoes and kissed the taller blond quietly. Cato smiled. Then he made possibly the hardest decision he had ever made. Harder even, than the decision to volunteer to make his father proud.

"You stay here. I'll go hunt." Cato smiled down at the boy he thought he might have fallen in love with. Nothing in his voice betrayed his feelings. Harry smiled up at him much too trustingly, and Cato nearly felt his resolve break.

"Alright. I'll hunt too, just for food though." Harry smiled up at Cato sunnily, a spike of fear worming its way into his heart. With a sense of certainty Harry knew he was going to die. Cato kissed him, and the kiss was desperate. A goodbye. And then Cato was gone, and Harry was alone with nothing but some rope and a hunting knife.

Cato was alone in the forest. Alone with his thoughts that were slowly driving him insane. He couldn't be in love with this tiny kid from District 4. He couldn't! But he was. He forced himself to keep walking away, hoping somewhere in his heart that even though he left to allow Harry to die, that he would survive, would survive and come find him. He paused and cleared his thoughts. He kept walking, face blank.

Harry meanwhile was cleaning his blade. Tiredly he was throwing it into a tree nearby. It stuck with a dull thud.

"Some nice wrist action you've got going there." A snide voice spoke up from behind him. Marvel. Harry closed his eyes in frustration, fear worming its way into his heart unbidden.

"What do you want Marvel?" Harry asked with a frown.

"Must I want something?" Marvel asked sarcastically, placing a hand over his heart as if wounded. Harry snorted.

"Just paying a visit then? I'm flattered. Listen, can you just make it quick?" Harry asked, looking annoyed. Marvel smirked cruelly.

"Say please." He taunted in a sing-song voice. Harry let out a deep breath.

"Please Marvel. Kill me quickly." He whispered voice full of hate. Marvel grinned.

"Alright. But you have to do something for me first." Marvel murmured, walking closely, teeth gleaming in the dappled sunlight. Harry glanced at him unsurely.

"Again I ask. What do you want?" Harry asked, voice even more annoyed than it had been previously. Marvels grin widened, making his cheeks stretch grotesquely.

*****Scene*****

"I want you on your knees, using your pretty mouth to suck my cock." Marvel whispered into Harry's ear, breath hot against his neck. Harry flinched.

"I'd rather you tortured me to death." Harry said disdainfully. Marvel laughed.

"You know, I was almost hoping you would say that."In a flash Marvel had Harry's arm twisted behind his back. He led him over roughly to the nearest tree, pressing his chest against it. "See, pet, I don't really care if you say yes or not." Marvel's voice was quiet, tongue brushing against the nape of Harry's neck. Harry whimpered as the tree bark scraped against his shirt. Marvel grabbed the hunting knife lodged in the tree where Harry had thrown it and held it against the boy's neck. "Strip." He ordered, voice sounding smug almost. Harry ignored the whirring of the camera, and glared at Marvel.

"Come on Marvel. Don't do this. Just kill me." Harry begged, hating himself for doing it. Marvel grinned, and drew a line on Harry's neck.

"Strip. Or it'll be hours before your cannon shot goes off." He ordered again, voice growling. Harry shivered as he was yanked away from the tree and left out in the open. He raised shaking fingers to his jacket, unzipping it slowly. Marvel snarled. "Stop stalling!" He shouted. Harry jumped violently. Then Marvel's turned quickly.

*********Scene**

"Who's there?" He called, looking frightened. Cato came out of nowhere plunging his sword into Marvel's leg. Marvel shouted and stabbed the knife at Cato brutally, missing by an inch. Cato redrew his sword and sent it dead into Marvel's heart. Marvel gazed at it unbelievingly. He stared at Cato, face slack, and then his eyes went cold. The violent encounter was over in less than two minutes and Harry was left shivering in the suddenly cool air. He was detachedly aware that this was being filmed, that people were on the edge of their seats, wondering what would happen next. A small child had probably just asked his parents what had happened and Harry wanted to cry from the sheer horror of the bloody Capitol. He was being wrapped in Cato's arms, the tall teen whispering apologies. Harry was silent, staring straight ahead, right into the camera. His eyes were dead, broken. All he could feel was a quiet rage brewing in his abdomen. That now familiar spark was racing up his spine, making it tingle. _Revenge. _It was sliding through his brain like water. It made goose bumps break out across his arms, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. A cannon shot went off, and Harry and Cato walked away quietly, ignoring the helicopter pointedly. They walked and walked, for what seemed like hours, but was probably minutes. They walked until the numbness wore off. Another cannon shot fired somewhere in the distance. Two dead. Four to go.

AN: Woowee this was very nearly almost late! So that was an attempted rape scene, sorry if that disturbs you. Fun fact: As I write this I am doing a Hetalia role play where I am Russia and I am punishing Britain. This is close to being done you guys! Also, Lekaiel made me ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL fan art, it's on deviantART check it out yo. Hasta la pasta! (Review please?)


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine: The final chapter. **

**So, this is rated M for non graphic sex later towards the end. **

**The song The Hanging Tree belongs to Suzanne Collins. **

That night they lay awake staring at the sky. They had returned to their makeshift camp, cooked some rabbit that Harry's snare had caught and were silent. They spoke less than five words throughout those hours, both absorbing what had happened. Cato had let the blood stay on his hands for a long time before noticing. He had almost forgotten to clean his blade. They watched as the faces of the tributes appeared in the sky, Marvel's face appearing first. Harry nearly vomited when Ginny's face was next, smiling sweetly out at them all. And after that was the redhead from District 5. Three dead. _Cato. Harry. Peeta. Thresh. _Four left. Harry let his eyes slide shut; fully aware he may never open them again.

When he awoke the next morning all was still. He could see smoke rising faintly into the sky from a ways away, not near enough to threaten them. Cato was awake and sitting near a tree, sharpening a stick into a spear of sorts. Harry watched him work for a moment. Cato's brow was furrowed in concentration and the muscles in his hands were continuously flexing. He walked over, ignoring the hunger pains in his stomach.

"Hey." He greeted demurely.

"Hey." Cato smiled at him, looking deep in thought. Harry meandered off to check the snares he had set the night before, bringing the rabbit and the squirrel back to camp. Efficiently he skinned and cooked them handing Cato his portion. They ate in silence and Harry mourned the days of easy flirting. But it was going to be over soon, you could cut the tension in the air with a knife. Harry flashed a sideways glance at his… he didn't even know how to label Cato. Friend? Lover? _Competition. _A devious voice murmured in the back of his mind. He shook the thought away and ran a hand down the back of Cato's arm.

"There's only four of us left." Harry said aloud. "I'm sure Thresh is going after Peeta at some point. Let's just stay here today. Relax." He let the fact that today was probably their last go unsaid. Cato stared at him blatantly, before surging forward and sealing their lips together. Harry yelped in surprise. The kiss was hard and fast, not at all romantic. It was perfect for them. They kissed for what seemed like hours, and maybe it was. There was no way of knowing in the arena. They broke apart when a cannon shot went off. Cato laughed against Harry's lips.

**XXX**

Peeta stalked through the woods. Well, more like stomped. He wasn't exactly quiet. Blood dripped from the side of his face, and he froze when he heard a twig crack behind him. He closed his eyes, and murmured a silent prayer to a God he didn't believe in. Thresh had shoved the thick sword through his back before he knew what had happened.

XXX

"How much you wanna bet that was lover boy?" Cato asked cruelly. Harry shivered and wondered how he had gotten beneath the elder boy.

"Don't Cato. Just don't." Harry murmured, voice low and pained. Cato hesitated then nodded. "The sun is going to set soon." Harry started abruptly, though the sun was still high in the sky. Cato pulled back and stared down at the dark haired boy from District Four.

"Harry. We are going to die today. Or tomorrow… What was that?" Cato stopped his speech midway through at the sound of growling. Harry looked over his shoulder, fright clear on his features.

"Cato. Run." Harry said as calmly possibly. And then they were on their feet running as fast as they could towards the first place they could think of. The cornucopia. The dogs… no… what the fuck were these things? They growled like dogs, but they were the size of small bears. They had eyes like cats, but feet like wolves. They snapped at their heels with a vengeance, aiming to kill, but at the moment it seemed more playful. More like… herding. And before they knew it they were out of the woods. Racing straight towards Thresh. Thresh was quite the sight. Covered in blood, but running from the mutant _things _for all he was worth. The three boys drew level to each other shortly.

"Up, up, up!" Harry snapped in a panic. He shoved Cato ahead of him, and the blond quickly climbed the slick metal. Harry glanced at the quickly gaining dogs, terror on his face. Cato reached down and grabbed his arm, hauling him up with a strength he didn't know he possessed. Thresh had climbed up the other side and lay on the cool metal, panting. As a strange side effect the sun glinted off the metal, then slowly began to sink in the sky, though it was only just passed noon. Harry stared at Thresh, a strange look on his face. He was going to die today. Thresh and Harry would die, and Cato would be left victorious. They would die on this slick metal dome, the sun falling from the sky at the wrong time. It seemed… fitting somehow. Thresh was getting to his feet now, and Harry realized it wasn't his own blood covering him. They stared at each other, and then both Thresh and Cato were drawing swords. And suddenly, Harry wasn't sure Cato would win. He felt that strange electricity filling his veins and he stared at Thresh intently. He could feel it dancing on his fingertips. Then Cato's sword met Thresh's with a mighty clang and they were off, parrying and stabbing with an almost breathtaking grace. But Cato's guard was down for just a moment, and Harry saw Thresh about to make the final blow, and the electricity exploded from his hands. It arced forward invisibly and hit Thresh in the side. His face was horrified for just a moment as he wind milled his arms, searching for balance…. And then he was falling. There was a vicious howling of triumph from the mutant animals and Harry and Cato were left alone on top of the place where they had camped not so very long ago. The dogs weren't done yet however, and they snarled and snapped at the edge on the great metal dome. Harry turned to Cato and smiled bravely. Cato dropped his sword, staring at the boy he had fallen in love with. Harry smiled again, but it was more of a grimace now. He took in a deep breath and walked over. He picked up Cato's sword and placed it in the blond boys hand. Closing his eyes, he kneeled. He knees hit the metal with a dull clang and he bowed his head.

"Make it fast Cato. Please." Harry whispered softly. Cato stared down at him with dread.

"No. I won't. I just…. No. Harry please. Don't make me do this." Cato whispered back. Harry glanced up when he heard the tears making the other boys voice thick. He froze when he saw Cato turn to the sky.

"Cato. What are you doing?" he asked nervously. Cato just shook his head.

"I won't kill you. Not yet." His voice as quiet, but then it suddenly grew louder. "Please! If you can hear me please! Just give us two more hours!" Cato begged loudly, speaking to no one in particular. Harry stared at him.

"Don't make this harder than it already is. Just do it. Please." Harry begged brokenly. Then something remarkable happened. The growls stopped. The mutated dogs retreated. The sun rose. Cato stared at the sky.

"Thank you. Thank you." He whispered reverently. Then he turned back to Harry and tugged him to his feet. Then he kissed him, with all the desperation of a dying man. Harry kissed him back gently, and wiped the tears from the blond boys face. Cato leapt down from the cornucopia and Harry followed. Cato tugged him into the cornucopia next and kissed him again. Harry smiled nervously against his lips.

"Cato… what are you doing?" He asked. Cato just smiled won at him, brokenly.

"_We _are making the most of the next two hours." Cato told him gently. And then he was everywhere, planting kisses on his face, his neck. He unzipped Harry's jacket and flung it to the side. Harry broke away panting.

"Cato! Live television?" Harry reminded dazedly.

"Yeah. It's a shame we forgot that lube." Cato murmured, hands brushing through Harry's hair. Harry just pulled back and stared at him.

"But…" He protested weakly. Cato groaned.

"Come on love. Relax. Let me take care of you. At least this way you won't die a virgin." Cato wheedled. Harry just glared at him.

"Losing my virginity on live telly. Wonderful." He snapped. But he kissed Cato anyway, and their tongues fought for dominance. Cato was sweet. He took it slow, despite the fact that they didn't have lube. He prepared his little lover carefully, sliding finger after finger into his arse. Harry moaned and arched under his searching fingers, face flushed with arousal. It didn't take him long to completely forget their audience. He thrust back with reckless abandon and soon enough Cato was sliding his thick cock into the smaller boys arse. Harry gasped and despite the painstaking prep, a few tears slid down his cheek. But Cato went slow and soon it was fine. Excellent. Calling it fucking would be using the wrong word. They made love for an hour inside the metal dome where they had camped mere days before, and ignored the mechanical whirs of the cameras all around. Soon they were both coming, moaning their release. Harry collapsed into Cato's arms, breathing heavily.

"Go to sleep love." Cato cooed. Harry smiled at him blearily and closed his eyes, expecting the killing blow that was sure to some. It never did. He slowly fell asleep, curled up naked covered in come. His eyes flew open when a cannon shot fired. He stood bolt upright and stared in horror at the sight before him. Cato was hanging lifeless before him, the thick rope curled around his throat, suspending him eerily in the air. He swung back and forth gently, almost as if in a breeze.

"Cato?" Harry asked brokenly, standing and walking over to him. "Cato, wake up." He whispered, tears filling his eyes. "Cato this isn't funny! Get down from there!" he shouted. He was screaming now, hysteria taking over at the sight of his beautiful, his strong Cato hanging brokenly from a piece of rope. His Cato, killed by a length of rope. Harry fell to his knees screaming. Quickly he grabbed Cato's sword and cut him down, and cringed when his beautiful love hit the ground with a sickening crunch. "Cato please! You can't leave me here, please! Cato!" Harry sobbed, draping himself over the blond corpse. Helicopter blades beat through the air, coming to them. Harry stood. Emptiness filled him. He couldn't feel anything but the horror, couldn't see anything but Cato hanging there from a string. The doctors from the Capitol walked out and picked up Cato's body, and Harry lunged after them drunkenly.

"Please. Let me stay with him." He begged, but his helicarrier was on the other side of the cornucopia, and the GameKeepers dragged him away. "No! Cato! Please!" He begged, tears started anew. Once in the carrier he sat still. He tugged the blanket they had placed over him tighter.

"I can go to his funeral right?" Harry whispered brokenly. The head Game Maker was there, staring at him in pity.

"That's really up to his parents." Crane murmured, patting Harry on the head. Harry stared forward unseeingly, his once lively green eyes cold, as if he had died in the arena too. And maybe he had. Part of him was definitely gone. Changed.

Fenrir was there when they reached the Capitol. He stared at the broken boy before him and wrapped him in his arms. He did not comment on his winning. He did not mention Ginny's absence. He just held the boy tightly. Jacen stood back respectfully, staring at his model in silence. There was silence all around, and Harry felt it pressing on his eardrums. Soon he would be escorted once again on to live television. He would speak to Caesar, a man he had flirted with so casually only a week before. It felt like a year. He could feel himself grow old just standing still wrapped in the healing arms of his predecessor. Fenrir knew this feeling, but Fenrir emerged bloody and triumphant. He smiled, and bared his teeth. But every winner of the games knows this feeling. Empty. They are empty.

Harry sat in the gaudy chair, on the gaudy stage, with the gaudy man and felt hatred burning in him. Filling up his empty soul. The blue man smiled a gaudy smile and Harry let the hate consume him. He wanted nothing.

"So Harry. You're the winner of the 74th annual Hunger Games. How do you feel?" Harry stared at him. His gaudy stylists had dressed him up in gaudy clothes, like some doll.

"How do you live with it?" Harry said quietly, staring Caesar straight in the eyes. Caesar smiled that gaudy smile and Harry wanted to hit it off of him.

"Live with what Harry?" Caesar asked, and his gaudy smile held a tinge of nervousness.

"Everyone you interviewed last week are dead. Except me. How do you live with talking to people marked for death and smiling?" Harry asked, voice cracking. And finally that smile was gone. The gaudy man cracked down the middle for just a moment, and Harry saw. He saw the broken doll inside. Nothing but a puppet unable to break the strings holding him up. If they were cut, he would fall. Into an abyss. It made Harry sad. And angry. The hate filled up his void, and electricity burned in the air. Then Harry smiled a gaudy smile.

"Caesar, I feel wonderful about winning the Hunger Games."

_Are you, are you_

_Coming to the tree_

_Where they strung up a man they say murdered three_

_Strange things did happen here_

_No stranger would it be_

_If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree_

_Are you, are you_

_Coming to the tree_

_Where the dead man called out for his love to flee_

_Strange things did happen here_

_No stranger would it be_

_If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree_

_Are you, are you_

_Coming to three_

_Where I told you to run so we'd both be free_

_Strange things did happen here, _

_No stranger would it be_

_If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree_

_Are you, are you_

_Coming to the tree_

_Wear a necklace of rope, side by side with me_

_Strange things did happen here_

_No stranger would it be _

_If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree_

**Are you, are you**

**Coming to the tree**

**Where the soul has died and started the deed**

**Strange things have happened here**

**No stranger would it be**

**If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree**

**AN **And so it ends. It's been fun, thanks for reading. Sorry for all of your tears! Mwahaha. There is potential for a sequel, though I make no promises. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing. Also, I will probably write a one-shot on Cato's funeral, so watch out for that. Thank you everybody, a good-bye.


	11. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Harry stood by the casket taking in a shuddering breath as it was lowered into the ground. The sky was a clear blue, and the crisp air stung his nose. Cato's mother was crying beside him and his father stood stoic. The grave marker read "Here lays Cato. A true winner." Harry refused to start sobbing, and in all honesty he wasn't sure if he could. The emptiness had returned, but the rage was boiling in the background. Cato's sister threw the first handful of dirt onto the gleaming white casket and it signaled the rest of the dirt to be emptied over it. Harry began to walk away silently, ignoring the Capitol guards standing not ten feet away, watching him.


End file.
